For Europe, the partys over but not clear what comes next on May 29, 2016 “Peace, joy and pancakes” could have been the European Union’s motto. That silly German expression — Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen — refers to glossing over problems. It can also describe the blithe optimism with which most Europeans marched into the glorious future of a unified Europe. Today that promise seems to have evaporated. As the […]
Germany can take that smug look off its face on April 3, 2016If a Der Spiegel cover is any indication of the mood in Germany, then Europe’s largest country is on the verge of an explosion. Two weeks ago, the newsmagazine highlighted the country’s growing income inequality in a cover story on “the divided nation.” The cover photo showed a couple in a gilded room with a […]
Could Germanys attempt to ban neo-Nazis backfire? on February 22, 2016At the end of January, Germany’s neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD) introduced a bill in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s parliament to fine or throw in prison every foreigner who enters the state without the proper paperwork. The proposal was the latest in a long line of inflammatory proposals the NPD has put forth since it gained seats […]
When it comes to Russia, its Munich all over again again on February 22, 2016The run-up to the annual Munich Security Conference, when world leaders descend on the Bavarian capital, seemed like the perfect opportunity to put a halt to Syria’s bleeding. But skeptics rubbished Secretary of State John Kerry’s ceasefire deal from the beginning, and now even President Barack Obama is casting doubt on it. It appears as […]