Please support the petition from @finanzwende.de et al to end tax privileges for Germany's super rich. Let's make change happen and support solidarity. Jetzt unterzeichnen:: www.finanzwende.de/kampagnen/st...

@derspiegel is worried about debt under Germany's new govt and says the borrowing will burden future generations. But that's Germany talking itself into a downward spiral. #GermanAngst Here's why that's the wrong approach: www.spiegel.de/politik/deut...

Germany urgently needs migrants to bolster its workforce and fulfill public services, especially finance its mounting pension bill. But it's sending signals that migrants aren't wanted. @willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about the issue for @theguardian.com 👇 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The German govt tried and failed to ban right-wing magazine Compact. Amid talk of an AfD ban, it shows that fighting extremism in the courts is fraught. An approach that provides real solutions to the people and addresses their anxiety would be more promising. www.tagesschau.de/inland/gesel...

@willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about Germany's challenges with supporting NATO. Money isn't the main problem. It's soldiers. Germany's youth have little opportunity, so who would want to fight for their country? Answers need to be found. www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...

June 17 used to be a holiday in West Germany to mark the deadly 1953 uprising in East Germany. After reunification it was consider "Mission Accomplished." That was obviously premature. Check out my pitch for its revival on @Hahauenstein.bsky.social's substack 👇 open.substack.com/pub/hannohau...

Germany is drifting into a Gastarbeiter mindset, where migrants are viewed as labor and not as people. Without a course correction, it would be a disaster. Germany needs to approach integration as a two-way street. More from @willwilkes.bky.social and me in @surplusmagazin.bsky.social

@ft.com.web.brid.gy said my book Broken Republik with @willwilkes.bsky.social offered "a deeply insightful and fresh view" of Germany's challenges. Check it out for yourself: www.waterstones.com/book/broken-... or straight from @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social 🙏 www.ft.com/content/1ff8...

Germany's memory culture has failed, allowing Nazi symbols to retain power to provoke and divide. @willwilkes.bsky.social and I discussed the reasons why Germany is struggling with who it is with the Mad in Germany podcast. Check it out 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=WigC...

Despite Germany's famed memory culture, the Nazi era is an unresolved national trauma. It paralyzes the country and keeps it from being able to evolve and pivot toward the future. @willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about the issue (auf deutsch) for #thePioneer. www.thepioneer.de/originals/th...

Crazy day in German politics. Friedrich Merz is officially chancellor, but his unprecedented failure in the first round of voting in the Bundestag will leave a mark. Even more scrutiny on implementation now. Yesterday, we laid out risks in The Guardian 👇 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

For the Guardian, @willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about the challenges Friedrich Merz will face as Germany's next chancellor. Our adopted country needs him to be successful and that means uniting the people, but his instincts have been to divide. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Military airspace rules have hampered the construction of enough wind power to supply a city like Berlin. The bureaucratic tangle reflects the challenges that awaits Friedrich Merz's new government to revive the German economy. 👇 www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Talked about reinventing the "German Dream"...alongside the cloudy prospects for the new government here (auf deutsch) 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrfV...

@willwilkes.bsky.social und ich haben einen Beitrag für @migazin.de geschrieben. Es ist ein Aufruf zum Handeln, der auf unser Buch „Total Kaputt?“ zurückgeht. Deutschland droht zu zersplittern und die Menschen müssen sich zusammentun. Wir sind alle das Volk. www.migazin.de/2025/04/15/w...

AfD up 6 points in Bavaria, to second place. CSU down 5 points. Markus Soeder and co. are not blunting the nationalists by shifting to the right. They are enabling them. What's needed is clear policies that show a path forward.

@willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote something for Katja Hoyer's Zeitgeist substack. Borrowing from our book Broken Republik / Totally Kaputt?, the piece looks at how reunification continues to ripple through Germany and why it went wrong. Check it out 👇 www.katjahoyer.uk/p/the-long-s...

Check out @willwilkes.bsky.social and I talking about our Book Broken Republik with @40percentgerman.bsky.social and @maddox84.bsky.social on the Decades from Home podcast. It's not Germany does it worse, but Germans can do it better! Here's a clip 👇

Friedrich Merz and the German conservative bloc are now neck-on-neck with the far-right AfD -- a party whose co-leader called Hitler a communist. Sure, there's no election soon, but it means Merz's government (if he gets one together) faces under enormous execution risk from the get go.

@willwilkes.bsky.social and I talked to @40percentgerman.bsky.social about what ails Germany. There's a silver lining there. Check it out 👇 open.spotify.com/show/1dqxxaL...

Analysis by Germany's Kiel Institute for the World Economy shows that Trump's tariffs hit the US hardest. So, not so much reciprocation but a lot of self-harm. www.ifw-kiel.de/publications...

Some CDU lawmakers want to ban the keffiyeh in the Bundestag. Inventing a xenophobic solution for a problem that doesn't exist will not win back voters, even AfD voters. 🫣 www.welt.de/politik/deut...

Friedrich Merz's CDU/CSU is just one point ahead of the far-right AfD in a new poll. The chancellor-in-waiting has his back against the wall before his term even starts. www.n-tv.de/politik/Unio...

This is very disturbing, but part of a pattern in Germany. The country's postwar identity is built around the idea of not being Nazis. That has led to performative acts to counter what it deems as anti-Semitism, which -- for the German mainstream -- includes criticizing Israel.

@willwilkes.bsky.social and I took a look at what Germany's spending plan means for European security. Based on reporting from our book Broken Republik (English)/Totally Kaputt? (deutsch), it's not promising. Check it out on @unherd.com 👇 unherd.com/2025/03/why-...

In an updated outtake from our book "Broken Republik" in the @thespectator1828.bsky.social, @willwilkes.bsky.social and I take a look at the risks facing Germany's marquis industry in the Trump era. Spoiler alert: It doesn't look good. www.spectator.co.uk/article/can-...

Vielen dank Marco!

It's not yet a done deal that Friedrich Merz will become German chancellor. He still has a fine line to walk and differences to overcome. No one's going to make it easy for him, not even members of his own party. 👇 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

If only Berlin did this. My street's main function is parking. It serves no transit function beyond garbage pick up. The lack of ambition in Germany is astounding.

Guck mal eine kritische Rezension von „Totally Kaputt?“ von @willwilkes.bsky.social und mir in der Süddeutsche Zeitung. 👇 Es ist toll, die Berichterstattung zu sehen. Ein paar Punkte sind aber erwähnenswert... 🧵 www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/deut...

Die Bloomberg-Journalisten Chris Reiter und Will Wilkes haben ein Buch über Deutschlands Probleme geschrieben. Wieso Wirtschaftspolitik alleine nicht reicht, erklären sie im Interview.

The good news in Germany’s massive spending plan is it shows the country can change and can spend on neglected areas. The bad news is Friedrich Merz has created existential execution risk before his term has even started and meaningful impact is needed quickly. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

At the @waterstones.bsky.social bookstore near Picadilly Circus in London, they got "Broken Republik" with @willwilkes.bsky.social head-to-head with Angela Merkel's memoirs. At least in one of the books, there's an honest assessment of Germany’s problems...and potential solutions.

German democracy is in the midst of a crisis, and I had the honor speak on a panel last week at the Hertie School. Check it out (auf deutsch) 👇 www.inforadio.de/rubriken/deb...

We're getting ready for the first debate on Friedrich Merz's spending splurge. The plans for the election winner to unlease hundreds of billions of euros is a critical moment for Germany and Europe. Here's what it all means. 👇 www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Neuer Podcast (Premium): Ich habe mich mit @chrishreiter.bsky.social zusammengesetzt und wir sind der Frage nachgegangen, ob Deutschland totally kaputt (?) ist. https://mikrooekonomen.de/mikrogespraech042-mit-chris-reiter-ist-deutschland-totally-kaputt/

Germany's crisis is about more than a slumping economy and fragmented politics. Widening inequality and social polarization is undermining the idea of "Prosperity for All." Germany needs to find new ways to bring the nation together. With @willwilkes.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

@unherd.com published an excerpt from my book Broken Republik with @willwilkes.bsky.social from @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social. Check it out 👇 Amazon link here: amzn.eu/d/56WqhsR unherd.com/2025/03/germ...

The Times reviewed my book Broken Republik with @willwilkes.bsky.social. Check it out. 👇 Amazon link here: amzn.eu/d/56WqhsR www.thetimes.com/culture/book...

Die Welt reviewed our book "Totally Kaputt?" about Germany's crisis and what it needs to do to recover. Check it out 👇 And then check it out 😀 amzn.eu/d/hy05nza www.welt.de/kultur/medie...

Germany can turn itself around if it really understands its issues. We lay it out in our new book "Totally Kaputt?" (out now in German): amzn.eu/d/hy05nza The English version "Broken Republik" follows next week: amzn.eu/d/56WqhsR Here's the first review: www.swr.de/swrkultur/li...

some personal news... The first copy of "Totally Kaputt" is here. Very excited and very grateful. #PiperVerlag

Amazing animated graphics by @jhjanicki.bsky.social, and text by @chrishreiter.bsky.social ⤵️ www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

I was on Tagesschau24 today to talk about Germany’s problems and our new book. Clip is here: www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/v... Book is here: www.piper.de/buecher/tota...

Across the political spectrum, Germany’s parties have shied away from the sticky issue of housing, even though it’s arguably one of the key sources of social anxiety and weighs on the economy. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...