Constantin Eckner is a Berlin-based journalist and historian. He works for numerous German newspapers and broadcasters
Germany’s national parliament has made the public burning of the European Union flag and flags of foreign countries punishable by up to three years in jail, classing it as a hate crime. In a vote last Thursday, the German parliament made the act of defiling foreign flags equal to the crime of defiling the German
Where Brits have voiced their opposition to the coronavirus lockdown, they’ve mostly done so from their own homes over the internet. But some Germans who are unhappy at the restrictions imposed to thwart the spread of the virus are adopting a more radical approach. Demonstrators gathered in Munich, Stuttgart and other German cities last Saturday to
Angela Merkel unveiled a new phase of Germany’s strategy for dealing with coronavirus last night. Much of what she said was already widely known, but the nuances of what she announced were still revealing. Two households will now be able to meet up with each other. Football – albeit behind closed doors – is back on. Restaurants
Germany has led the way in its approach to combating the coronavirus pandemic. The country’s intense programme of consistent testing from early on has resulted in far fewer deaths than the worst-affected countries. It was only logical then that Angela Merkel’s cabinet and Germany’s 16 state governments would ease the lockdown sooner than others. But
The European Union has done it again. Last Thursday, member states agreed on an aid package of more than half a trillion euros (£436bn). A good portion of that money will be used to revitalise the economies in Italy and Spain, the two European countries that have suffered the most deaths due to the virus
Like her or not, Angela Merkel has managed Germany’s response to the coronavirus pandemic commendably. The long-time chancellor usually appears to be anything but energetic, yet her serious demeanour is perfect for a leader during such an exceptional crisis. And Germany has benefited as a result. Yet as much as Merkel’s current crisis management has
Germans eagerly awaited Angela Merkel’s announcement this week about a potential exit strategy for Germany, the country with one of the lowest Covid-19 death rates in Europe. Many Germans expected a turning point and a possible return to everyday life. What they got was only a first small step back to normal. Initially the chancellor
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Throughout recent weeks, Germany has been held up as an example of how to tackle coronavirus. So what exactly makes its response quite so effective?
‘Desperate times call for desperate measures’ is the expression of the moment when it comes to summing up how countries are addressing the coronavirus crunch. Germany is no exception. Even before the pandemic, the country’s economy was heading towards a mild recession, according to plenty of projections. But once the virus spread across the Hubei province, Germany’s manufacturers
Over the past few weeks there has been widespread curiosity about the German healthcare system. Since the coronavirus outbreak, the infection curve in Germany has risen just as steeply as in Italy, and the measures it has imposed are quite similar to those elsewhere. Yet, its death rate is noticeably lower. Of 100,132 Germans who
When Emmanuel Macron told the French people how his government would tackle coronavirus, he used the word ‘war’ six times. Boris Johnson adopted a similar stance, invoking wartime language to tell Brits we will ‘win the fight’ and beat the enemy’. In her recent televised speech, chancellor Angela Merkel specifically avoided suggesting that Germany is ‘at war’
