Flattery from Macron Musk hasn’t yet thrown his endorsement behind Marine Le Pen and the French far right. But President Macron — who, like Scholz in Germany, is politically fragile and facing domestic turbulence — is desperate to get him onside. He has been urging the tech entrepreneur, alongside Trump, to attend a major artificial … Read more
Musk’s endorsements of Trump have prompted a major backlash in Germany, with mainstream political leaders arguing they amount to election interference. Given Musk’s ties to United States President-elect Donald Trump, one opponent suggested that interference may be coming from the incoming American administration. The German government must clarify “whether the repeated disrespect, defamation and interference … Read more
And, no doubt, he’s now hoping history repeats itself. Hence, Merz is trying to curb his instincts and not snap at critics, not make any unguarded remarks. But the risk of him getting into trouble while pressing the flesh with voters is not insignificant. This is critical because while Merz dreams of an outright majority, … Read more
The endorsement sparked a firestorm in Germany, with the government and politicians across the spectrum accusing Musk of attempting to influence the outcome of the February election. “Musk is strengthening those who are weakening Europe,” Germany’s vice chancellor and economy minister, Robert Habeck, also said in his New Year’s address. Musk has launched a series … Read more
At the other end of Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. Ukrainians chalked up some successes in 2024, becoming a dominant force in the Black Sea despite the country’s tiny navy, and mounting a counteroffensive into Russia’s Kursk region in August. But they are ending this year on the back foot, having lost many of … Read more
Musk, who is closely allied to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, has longed expressed sympathy for the AfD — but, also, some uncertainty about the party’s stances. “Why is there such a negative reaction from some about AfD?” the tech billionaire wrote on X in June. “They keep saying ‘far right,’ but the policies of AfD that … Read more
Dirty secret That’s where Germany comes in. The dirty little secret of European R&D spending is that half of it comes from Germany. And most of that investment flows into one sector: automotive. While that might seem obvious given the sector’s size (the German auto industry’s annual revenue is nearly half a trillion euros), it’s not where … Read more
The 27-year-old has made it clear in recent weeks that a strategy like Trump’s, fusing a campaign focused on a no-holds-barred approach to immigration with bold rhetoric, could find a receptive audience in France given the Republican candidate’s success siphoning Black, Latino and female voters from the Democratic party. “The Muslim vote, in particular, offers … Read more
Heute Thüringen, gestern Brandenburg, kommende Woche Sachsen. Im Osten hat das Wagenknecht-Bündnis bei jeder der Wahlen eines Ministerpräsidenten ein Wort mitzureden. In Brandenburg und Thüringen als Koalitionspartner, in Sachsen als Zünglein an der Waage für eine Minderheitsregierung. Während die Wahl von Dietmar Woidke zumindest im zweiten Wahlgang erledigt war, wird heute in Thüringen alles komplizierter. … Read more
PARIS — Marine Le Pen has always walked a tightrope between being the outsider, intent on taking a wrecking ball to the French establishment, and cultivating a more mainstream image to win sufficiently broad support in the hope of one day becoming president. The political crisis that has gripped France has brought that stark choice … Read more
