DW Berlin Briefing - Inside German politics

The far-right AfD won a record 44% in Saxony-Anhalt. Is this a regional protest vote, or a broader shift in German politics? DW's Nina Haase, Max Hofmann, Michaela Küfner and Matthew Moore discuss the results.

Ahead of Saxony-Anhalt's state elections, Berlin Briefing's Max Hofmann talks to Matthew Moore about his interview with AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund and the radical vision he and his far-right party want to enact.

Germany has officially blamed Russia for a suspected hybrid attack at Leipzig airport. Hosts Nina Haase and Max Hofmann discuss what that means for Germany and NATO with DW’s Teri Schultz and Roman Goncharenko.

For our 100th episode, DW’s Nina Haase, Michaela Küfner and Max Hofmann have come together with colleagues to answer the toughest questions that you've sent us and reflect on the future challenges facing Germany.

Ahead of the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin Briefing host Michaela Küfner interviewed Sven Schulze, state premier and the CDU's candidate.

Could a regional vote by less than 3% of the German electorate reshape national politics and redefine the center parties' response to the far right? The AfD leads polls ahead of the Saxony-Anhalt election. In this Berlin Briefing, DW's Nina Haase, Michaela Küfner and Matthew Moore talk to Dr. Roland Abold of infratest dimap about what the election means for Germany's political future.

Germany is heating and drying up faster than ever. Yet climate change is not high on the agenda of many politicians. Together with sustainability researcher Maja Göpel and SPD climate spokesperson Jakob Blankenburg, DW’s Berlin Bureau Chief Max Hofmann examines the growing gap between climate reality and political action and asks: can Germany keep up with climate change?

DW’s Michaela Küfner asks security analyst Hans-Jakob Schindler, disinformation expert Julia Smirnova and DW Riga Bureau Chief Juri Rescheto to piece together what we know about the drone incident at Leipzig airport. How exposed is Germany to what the government admits are “daily attacks in a hybrid war”? And what, if anything, can we make of the awkward silence from German officials on Russia?

A landmark pension reform is triggering backlash from eastern Germany and exposing deep divisions within Chancellor Friedrich Merz's party. Why is Germany's pension system under pressure? Why the resistance? And could this become a serious threat to the government itself? In this episode of Berlin Briefing, Max Hofmann and Michaela Küfner speak with leading economist Veronika Grimm to find out.

An ad-hoc cabinet reshuffle backfired on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. With political egos flying and hurt feelings all around, could inner-party frustration threaten government stability? DW's Michaela Küfner and Nina Haase separate political drama from the facts with Reuters' Chief Correspondent Andreas Rinke: Is Merz better at strengthening his government or creating problems for himself?

The attack on Berlin Pride has triggered a political debate. Calls for tougher security measures are getting louder, and pressure is mounting on Friedrich Merz's government amid cabinet reshuffling. DW's Michaela Küfner and Nina Haase discuss with government advisor on extremism Rebecca Schönenbach: What does this moment mean for Germany's politics, its open society, and upcoming state elections?

Brexit was supposed to pull Britain away from Europe. Yet 10 years on, Britain's new prime minister is championing ideas that look strikingly familiar to Germans – ideas which Berlin itself is starting to question. This Berlin Briefing deciphers the similarities between Andy Burnham and Germany‘s chancellor; how London may say goodbye to the Westminster System; and what it all means for NATO

What can a war game tell us about a real-world security crisis? In this episode of Berlin Briefing, DW’s Nina Haase speaks with Carolina Drüten, International Security Correspondent at WELT and creator of the podcast Ernstfall, based on a public war game simulating a Russian challenge to NATO's eastern flank and Roman Goncharenko, DW Eastern Europe Security Analyst and Correspondent.

Can German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stop the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany? Germany's coalition government has launched sweeping reforms on the economy, pensions and welfare. In this episode of Berlin Briefing, DW’s Michaela Küfner and Matthew Moore examine with economist Marcel Fratzscher whether Germany's reform gamble can reverse the far-right populist surge.

As the United States marks 250 years of independence, Germany is confronting an uncomfortable question: can it still rely on its most important ally? Former German ambassador to Washington Emily Haber joins DW's Nina Haase to discuss the future of transatlantic relations and how Europe may have to forge new alliances and capabilities on its own.

In this Berlin Briefing special from the Global Media Forum, DW’s Nina Haase and Max Hofmann are joined by NATO expert Gerlinde Niehus and Maximilian Mayer from the University of Bonn to discuss: where does Germany hold real leverage and how can it help Europe become a strategic power?

Berlin Briefing looks at how Germany remembers the Holocaust and why it's being targeted by the far-right AfD. Björn Höcke rejects German collective guilt, blaming only the Nazi dictatorship. With Melanie Amann, author of "Fear for Germany: The truth about the AfD" and social scientist Jakob Schergaut, host Michaela Küfner examines the controversy and the AfD’s push to reshape history.

As the World Cup kicks off, pundits in Germany are asking: Could success on the pitch help the coalition bounce back? In Berlin Briefing, host Max Hofmann discusses with DW’s Chief Political Editor Michaela Küfner, sports and politics expert Florian Bauer, and DW sports reporter Jonathan Harding whether this is the most political World Cup yet — and whether ‘die Mannschaft’ could lift the mood.

Germany just suffered one of its biggest diplomatic setbacks in decades: losing a UN Security Council seat it thought was practically guaranteed. In this episode of Berlin Briefing, host Nina Haase and her guests, DW's Max Hofmann and UN expert Myriel Marthez, take you inside the vote, inside the backroom diplomacy, and inside the reasons Germany’s campaign collapsed.

Berlin Briefing host Michaela Küfner unpacks the Pope's call for responsible AI regulation and asks what Germany’s plans are to avoid a sell-out to big tech interests. She is joined by tech regulation expert Matthias Kettemann from the Leibniz Institute for Media Research and DW's tech policy correspondent Maximiliane Koschyk.