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| Need to Catch Up on the German Election? Here’s a Guide | Need to Catch Up on the German Election? Here’s a Guide |
| (2 days later) | |
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| Germans head to the polls Sunday, following a year of dramatic elections in Europe. The Netherlands, France, and Britain all held big, noisy votes that underscored the political volatility now infusing politics across the European Union. The German vote is effectively a referendum on Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is running for a fourth term. It is also critical because of Germany’s role as the economic and political leader of the Continent. | |
| What follows is a guide to New York Times coverage of Ms. Merkel, Germany and Europe that can help you catch up on the election and the issues that have been roiling the region. | What follows is a guide to New York Times coverage of Ms. Merkel, Germany and Europe that can help you catch up on the election and the issues that have been roiling the region. |
| If you have time only for a few articles, start with this one by Melissa Eddy, our correspondent in Berlin. “Blunting the Far Right, Merkel Gains as German Election Nears” (Sept. 1) explains how Ms. Merkel has taken back the big issue that had animated her opponents on the far right: immigration. | If you have time only for a few articles, start with this one by Melissa Eddy, our correspondent in Berlin. “Blunting the Far Right, Merkel Gains as German Election Nears” (Sept. 1) explains how Ms. Merkel has taken back the big issue that had animated her opponents on the far right: immigration. |
| You can find Melissa Eddy’s latest stories here and follow her on Twitter here. | You can find Melissa Eddy’s latest stories here and follow her on Twitter here. |
| What happened to Martin Schulz? For your next stop, find out how the campaign of Ms. Merkel's main rival fizzled (Sept. 18). Mr. Schulz, of the center-left Social Democrats, once was considered to have a real chance of winning the chancellorship, but just days before the election, Ms. Merkel’s party leads his by double digits in polls. | What happened to Martin Schulz? For your next stop, find out how the campaign of Ms. Merkel's main rival fizzled (Sept. 18). Mr. Schulz, of the center-left Social Democrats, once was considered to have a real chance of winning the chancellorship, but just days before the election, Ms. Merkel’s party leads his by double digits in polls. |
| On Sept. 3, Ms. Merkel and Mr. Schulz clashed over Turkey and refugee policies in their only televised debate. | On Sept. 3, Ms. Merkel and Mr. Schulz clashed over Turkey and refugee policies in their only televised debate. |
| To find out why we haven’t we heard as much about Germany’s election compared with other big ones in Europe this year, turn to Jochen Bittner, political editor for the German weekly Die Zeit and a contributing Op-Ed writer for The Times. He offered his take on why this election is not making as big a splash: “mass resignation” among an electorate that has “accepted the fact that the country’s national politics are locked in place by a centrist consensus that gives them little choice at the ballot box.” | To find out why we haven’t we heard as much about Germany’s election compared with other big ones in Europe this year, turn to Jochen Bittner, political editor for the German weekly Die Zeit and a contributing Op-Ed writer for The Times. He offered his take on why this election is not making as big a splash: “mass resignation” among an electorate that has “accepted the fact that the country’s national politics are locked in place by a centrist consensus that gives them little choice at the ballot box.” |
| The flip side of what our Op-Ed contributor Lukas Hermsmeier calls a “reassuringly boring” election? It could be a victory for the nationalistic far right: The Alternative for Germany party is poised to enter Parliament for the first time in 60 years. Read about how this party is poised to break a postwar taboo. | |
| Ms. Merkel is widely expected to win. Her re-election would reinforce her position as one of the most powerful women in the world, and a strong counterpart to President Trump in the United States and President Vladimir V. Putin in Russia. | Ms. Merkel is widely expected to win. Her re-election would reinforce her position as one of the most powerful women in the world, and a strong counterpart to President Trump in the United States and President Vladimir V. Putin in Russia. |
| Our reporter Katrin Bennhold took a look at how, despite Germany being led by Ms. Merkel for 12 years, the country has a woman problem (Sept. 13): | Our reporter Katrin Bennhold took a look at how, despite Germany being led by Ms. Merkel for 12 years, the country has a woman problem (Sept. 13): |
| What do Ms. Merkel and her enduring power mean for the world? After Mr. Trump’s victory last year, she emerged as the “last powerful defender of Europe and the trans-Atlantic alliance,” wrote Alison Smale and Steven Erlanger, then the Times bureau chiefs for Berlin and London. But that lonely post comes with challenges: | What do Ms. Merkel and her enduring power mean for the world? After Mr. Trump’s victory last year, she emerged as the “last powerful defender of Europe and the trans-Atlantic alliance,” wrote Alison Smale and Steven Erlanger, then the Times bureau chiefs for Berlin and London. But that lonely post comes with challenges: |
| We also took a look at Ms. Merkel and Mr. Trump, two powerful leaders “estranged by widely diverging temperaments, worldviews, leadership styles and visions of Europe.” Ms. Merkel — who, in more than 11 years in power, has “proved uncommonly adept at solving the puzzle-box challenges posed by the world’s most unpredictable leaders” — may realize there isn’t a method for dealing with Mr. Trump. | We also took a look at Ms. Merkel and Mr. Trump, two powerful leaders “estranged by widely diverging temperaments, worldviews, leadership styles and visions of Europe.” Ms. Merkel — who, in more than 11 years in power, has “proved uncommonly adept at solving the puzzle-box challenges posed by the world’s most unpredictable leaders” — may realize there isn’t a method for dealing with Mr. Trump. |
| And to understand Ms. Merkel’s relationship with Mr. Putin, dig in to this comprehensive piece on their rivalry of history, distrust and power (Mar. 12) by Ms. Smale and Andrew Higgins, a Moscow correspondent. | And to understand Ms. Merkel’s relationship with Mr. Putin, dig in to this comprehensive piece on their rivalry of history, distrust and power (Mar. 12) by Ms. Smale and Andrew Higgins, a Moscow correspondent. |
| The article includes a nugget about talks between the two leaders in 2007: Mr. Putin let his large black Labrador into their meeting room, after the Kremlin had been told that Ms. Merkel was uneasy around dogs. | The article includes a nugget about talks between the two leaders in 2007: Mr. Putin let his large black Labrador into their meeting room, after the Kremlin had been told that Ms. Merkel was uneasy around dogs. |
| If Ms. Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union, wins as expected, the Social Democrats will probably be in second place. But there is a close race for third among the smaller parties to build a coalition government. | If Ms. Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic Union, wins as expected, the Social Democrats will probably be in second place. But there is a close race for third among the smaller parties to build a coalition government. |
| The Left, the Greens, the pro-business Free Democratic Party and the nationalist, populist Alternative for Germany are all polling just below 10 percent, meaning there may be four smaller parties in the next Parliament. Such a constellation would open the possibility for a different governing coalition, depending on whether the center-left Social Democrats, or the center-right Christian Democratic Union — who vote as a bloc with their Bavaria-only partners, the Christian Social Union — emerge as the strongest force. | The Left, the Greens, the pro-business Free Democratic Party and the nationalist, populist Alternative for Germany are all polling just below 10 percent, meaning there may be four smaller parties in the next Parliament. Such a constellation would open the possibility for a different governing coalition, depending on whether the center-left Social Democrats, or the center-right Christian Democratic Union — who vote as a bloc with their Bavaria-only partners, the Christian Social Union — emerge as the strongest force. |
| “There are no natural coalitions,” Ms. Merkel said in a radio interview with Deutschlandfunk on Aug. 14. “Everyone is now fighting for themselves.” | “There are no natural coalitions,” Ms. Merkel said in a radio interview with Deutschlandfunk on Aug. 14. “Everyone is now fighting for themselves.” |
| The outcome may not be a surprise, but any election brings forward important issues. Germans are focused on immigration, potential hacking attacks and leaks, and the rise of Alternative for Germany, which formed in 2013. | The outcome may not be a surprise, but any election brings forward important issues. Germans are focused on immigration, potential hacking attacks and leaks, and the rise of Alternative for Germany, which formed in 2013. |
| Ms. Merkel’s decision two years ago to throw open Germany’s doors to those seeking political asylum remains a vulnerable point for her. While stressing in her stump speech that 2015 must remain an exception, she has praised communities like Weimar, which Ms. Eddy and Rick Lyman, our Warsaw bureau chief, followed for months to learn how Germans and Syrians have adapted. | Ms. Merkel’s decision two years ago to throw open Germany’s doors to those seeking political asylum remains a vulnerable point for her. While stressing in her stump speech that 2015 must remain an exception, she has praised communities like Weimar, which Ms. Eddy and Rick Lyman, our Warsaw bureau chief, followed for months to learn how Germans and Syrians have adapted. |
| Diesel has also emerged as an election issue. “Sometimes it is hard to tell where the German government ends and the auto industry begins,” our European economics correspondent Jack Ewing writes. The backlash that started in 2015 with Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal has continues to build: | Diesel has also emerged as an election issue. “Sometimes it is hard to tell where the German government ends and the auto industry begins,” our European economics correspondent Jack Ewing writes. The backlash that started in 2015 with Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal has continues to build: |
| You can find Jack Ewing’s latest stories here, and follow him on Twitter here. He is the author of “Faster, Higher, Farther: The Volkswagen Scandal.” | You can find Jack Ewing’s latest stories here, and follow him on Twitter here. He is the author of “Faster, Higher, Farther: The Volkswagen Scandal.” |
| Jim Rutenberg, our media columnist, wrote recently from Berlin about the potential release of a trove of political secrets that hackers have gathered over the past couple of years, including in a 2015 attack on the German Parliament, and how journalists might cover such a leak. | Jim Rutenberg, our media columnist, wrote recently from Berlin about the potential release of a trove of political secrets that hackers have gathered over the past couple of years, including in a 2015 attack on the German Parliament, and how journalists might cover such a leak. |
| “Hackers Came, but the French Were Prepared” (May 9) is a good exploration of how French news outlets and politicians handled a hacking attack just hours before a legal ban on election reporting went into effect. | “Hackers Came, but the French Were Prepared” (May 9) is a good exploration of how French news outlets and politicians handled a hacking attack just hours before a legal ban on election reporting went into effect. |
| Much of the attention trained on Germany has focused on the rise of the far right. Early this year, Amanda Taub, a writer for The Interpreter, a column and newsletter, visited Germany to see how far-right populism has taken root in Europe. Read about Buch, “a cozy, safe neighborhood” emblematic of the forces “threatening to upend Western politics as we know it,” and delve into how Germany’s taboos, once a bulwark against the far right, may now be enabling it. | Much of the attention trained on Germany has focused on the rise of the far right. Early this year, Amanda Taub, a writer for The Interpreter, a column and newsletter, visited Germany to see how far-right populism has taken root in Europe. Read about Buch, “a cozy, safe neighborhood” emblematic of the forces “threatening to upend Western politics as we know it,” and delve into how Germany’s taboos, once a bulwark against the far right, may now be enabling it. |
| You can subscribe to the Interpreter newsletter here and follow Amanda Taub on Twitter here. | You can subscribe to the Interpreter newsletter here and follow Amanda Taub on Twitter here. |
| If you have time for a longer read, you can’t do much better than “The New Europeans,” a Times Magazine article by James Angelos, a writer based in Berlin. Mr. Angelos traveled to Siegsdorf, in southwestern Bavaria, last year to see how the village was grappling with the influx of refugees placed there — and with the question of what it means to be German. | If you have time for a longer read, you can’t do much better than “The New Europeans,” a Times Magazine article by James Angelos, a writer based in Berlin. Mr. Angelos traveled to Siegsdorf, in southwestern Bavaria, last year to see how the village was grappling with the influx of refugees placed there — and with the question of what it means to be German. |
| A good place to start pondering the issues facing Europe as a whole is “The Questions That Could Reshape a Worried Europe in 2017” (Jan. 28). Among them: Will Turkey turn away from Europe? Will the United States stand with Europe? Will nationalists triumph elsewhere? | A good place to start pondering the issues facing Europe as a whole is “The Questions That Could Reshape a Worried Europe in 2017” (Jan. 28). Among them: Will Turkey turn away from Europe? Will the United States stand with Europe? Will nationalists triumph elsewhere? |
| The Interpreter, again, offers a great overview in Uncertainty, More Than Populism, Is New Normal in Western Politics (June 10). | The Interpreter, again, offers a great overview in Uncertainty, More Than Populism, Is New Normal in Western Politics (June 10). |
| If you haven’t yet listened to The Daily, The Times’s audio news report, start with this episode. The host, Michael Barbaro, talked with the writers of The Interpreter about the perception — and reality — of the far right’s rise across the Continent. | If you haven’t yet listened to The Daily, The Times’s audio news report, start with this episode. The host, Michael Barbaro, talked with the writers of The Interpreter about the perception — and reality — of the far right’s rise across the Continent. |
| And finally, don’t miss these four visual pieces illustrating some of the important issues Europe is currently facing, including a string of terrorist attacks, the weakening of the European Union and the rise of the far right: | And finally, don’t miss these four visual pieces illustrating some of the important issues Europe is currently facing, including a string of terrorist attacks, the weakening of the European Union and the rise of the far right: |