Far-right AfD reels as German lawmakers slam party over espionage and corruption allegations – POLITICO

Dirk Wiese, a lawmaker belonging to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), accused to the AfD of “feigned patriotism,” adding: “Maybe it’s not your own country that you love so much. Maybe it’s not dictatorships like China, Russia and Belarus.” The scathing criticism of the AfD comes after revelations on Wednesday that German … Read more

France, Germany ask their citizens to quit Iran amid growing risk of military escalation in Mideast – POLITICO

It also restated that French citizens should “absolutely refrain from traveling to Iran, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine.”  Meanwhile, German airline Lufthansa on Sunday announced it won’t be conducting any flights to Amman, Erbil and Tel Aviv until Tuesday and flights to Beirut and Tehran until Thursday at the soonest. The announcement comes after the airline … Read more

Von der Leyen castigates far-right AfD over Russiagate scandal – POLITICO

Czech authorities in March sanctioned the Prague-based Voice of Europe website over claims that European politicians had engaged with the outlet, using their influence to discourage support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Two of the channel’s executives — including Viktor Medvedchuk, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin — were hit with sanctions. … Read more

Elephants trample on German coalition’s fragile vibes – POLITICO

While Germany started colonizing other countries comparatively late — at the end of the 19th century, hundreds of years after other European nations — its colonial empire in Africa and Asia was considered the third biggest by 1914. Germany was forced to give up its colonies after World War I, and to this day, it … Read more

Zelenskyy blasts Scholz’s reason for not sending German Taurus missiles – POLITICO

Germany’s government, however, presents its public with quite different logic for not sending the weapons. Scholz has steadfastly refused to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, saying in public statements that such a move could lead to an escalation of the war and could even draw Germany into direct conflict with Russia. The Ukrainians want Germany’s … Read more

‘I won’t dance. Promise,’ says Olaf Scholz as he joins TikTok – POLITICO

The chancellor first hinted at his intention of joining the video platform during a citizens’ dialogue in Dresden on February 29. The social media move is linked to his political campaign ahead of the European election on June 9 and crucial regional elections in the eastern German states of Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony in September. … Read more

Von der Leyen picks campaign team for run at second term as EU Commission chief – POLITICO

Von der Leyen’s campaign spokesperson will be Alexander Winterstein, currently a senior civil servant in the Commission’s communications directorate-general — a sharp transition into party politics that could raise some eyebrows. Winterstein was promoted to his present role in the EU executive from an earlier position at the directorate-general for competition policy when the center-right … Read more

Could Germany host 20,000 elephants? We asked an expert. – POLITICO

But but but … let’s say the elephants did end up in Germany — which originally triggered Botswana’s ire by moving to bring in a ban on trophy-hunting imports, thereby nullifying a popular population-reduction method — where would be the ideal spot for them to live? We asked an expert, Nuremberg Zoo director Dag Encke, … Read more

Germany’s Scholz says he hasn’t talked to Putin since December 2022 – POLITICO

Scholz said that after the outbreak of all-out war, Russia and Ukraine tried negotiating — but Moscow wasn’t serious. “The talks failed because Russia only used them as a pretext to move its troops to the east for a major offensive at the same time,” said Scholz. The German chancellor, who has often been criticized … Read more

As Germany’s coalition squabbles, Scholz vows EU will ‘stand together’ on Ukraine – POLITICO

In an interview on German public radio Wednesday, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the Bundestag’s defense committee and a member of the Free Democratic Party, a junior partner in Scholz’s coalition, hit back at Mützenich, calling the comment “social democratic appeasement policy that has never gotten us anywhere.” Amid the feuding, Scholz used his speech in … Read more