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Berlin Briefing

A weekly look at German politics

25.07.2023 | 19:00 UTC

In this edition: What makes the news while everyone is on summer vacation? Wild animals, tourists fleeing wildfires, politicians’ summer activities, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The sculpture by Wilhelm Wolff showing a group of lions was set up in the Tiergarten in 1878.

Willkommen to DW’s Berlin Briefing

By DW’s Analysis Team

Das Sommerloch (the summer hole) is upon us — that time of year when the parliament takes its summer break and everyone is on vacation. The lack of “hard” news is compensated by topics that may otherwise not necessarily make the headlines. Animals are always popular. Especially when a pet alligator or pet cobra goes astray.

This year, it was a “suspected lioness” who had been sighted south of Berlin. A search operation costing tens of thousands of euros, involving hundreds of police, veterinary experts and hunters with drones and an armored vehicle combed the area for 30 hours — before analysis of the video footage revealed that the “lioness” was actually a wild boar and this time around no wild animal had broken out in a country with interestingly few restrictions on dangerous pets.

Other summer news reporting revolves around the fate of German tourists being evacuated on Greek islands as wildfires rage out of control. While the record heat is linked to global warming, the fires are started by humans, possibly by tourists.

And last but not least there are the traditional “summer interviews”: leading politicians talk to public media in a relaxed atmosphere, sitting outdoors in their constituency or at their vacation location.

It was Friedrich Merz’s turn on Sunday. The leader of Germany’s largest mainstream party, the center-right Christian Democrats, chose to push a populist message again and just a little bit further. In the face of the uninterrupted rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (now at 22% in the polls nationwide), he suggested that cooperation with the far-right was actually okay — on the local level.

No cooperation with the AfD – a so-called Brandmauer (firewall) to the far-right has been the party’s credo. So Merz backtracked in the face of swift pushback also from within his own party.

But it is only the latest in a string of similar controversial statements, which are fueling suspicion that Merz is moving his party further to the right.
The debate has to be seen in the context of upcoming regional elections in September — and as DW’s Marcel Fürstenau explains, it’s a prelude to the race for the conservative candidate to challenge incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the chancellorship in 2025.

Why immigrants in Germany fear the AfD

The far-right surge in Germany is a worry to many, but minorities have the most to fear.

politicians on tour

India has become a popular travel destination for German government ministers. German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke has just set off for India for a multi-day trip focusing on forest protection.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Labor Minister Hubertus Heil visited the country last week, in a bid to attract skilled immigration.

DW’s Amrita Cheema spoke to the vice-chancellor upon his arrival.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius meanwhile canceled his planned trip to Iraq following protests there against the burning of a Quran in Sweden last week, an act that would not be prohibited in Germany either — as long as it involves no personal insults, verbal defamation of religious groups in a manner aimed at inciting hatred or disturbing the public peace.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is touring Germany for a change. Under the slogan “Strong together,” she is seeking an “open and honest exchange with citizens”.

At her stop in the eastern region of Saxony, she got her full measure of honesty, as residents accused her of being a “warmonger” for calling out Russia over its war on Ukraine.

Ines Pohl interviewing Annalena Baerbock in New York

Germany’s sense of responsibility

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told DW’s Ines Pohl about Germany’s duty to stop crimes against humanity especially after Russia stopped Ukraine’s grain deliveries to the rest of the world.

beyond politics

Annalena Baerbock was also one of the first to congratulate the German women’s soccer team on their Hammer Start (amazing and awesome start) into the World Cup tournament when they beat Morocco 6-0 on Monday.

While the days of glory for the German men’s soccer team seem long gone — Germany has fallen to 15th place on the FIFA Men’s World Ranking — the German women’s team ranks second only to the United States.

Germany can now secure qualification for the knockout stages with another win over Colombia on Sunday.