The Berlin Spectator - This is Berlin.

In September of last year, just before the general elections, democratic parties and voters feared the radical right-wing 'Alternative for Germany' ('Alternative für Deutschland', AfD) might not only enter the Bundestag, but also become the strongest opposition party. Those fears became reality. The radicals got 12.6 percent on September 24th,…

Welcoming a guest like Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is not easy for anyone in Berlin. When the Turkish President and Chancellor Angela Merkel shook hands to say…

Porsche did not build Diesel engines itself, but got them next door, from a convenient store called Volkswagen. To Porsche purists this step was a sacrilege. On…

Update, September 23rd, 2018, 9:30 p.m.: The heads of the coalition in Berlin agree on moving Maassen to the Interior Ministry, but not as an undersecretary. Also he will not receive a higher salary in his new position as a special adviser. You couldn't make this up: Hans-Georg Maassen, the director of the Federal Office for the Protection of…

German police have started systematic checks on the country's roads and streets. Today, a total of 11,000 officers will be stopping drivers who use their smart…

The percentage of women in managerial positions in Europe differs from country to country. There are less female managers (ISCO major group 1) in the 19 E.U.…

Update September 19th, 2018: The Social Democrats are angered by the fact that another undersecretary, Gunther Adler, an SPD member, is supposed to be pensioned off, in order to make room for Maassen, who will assume his post. Update September 18th, 2018: After two urgent meetings, the heads of the parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel's…

Three years ago, the European refugee crisis, which pretty much overshadowed everything, was at its peak. Still, on September 18th, 2015, a news item of a…

Does anybody really know what time it is? The answer is no, in spite of millions of wrist watches we wear, in spite of countless clocks on towers, churches and…

During a general debate at the Bundestag, Germany's federal parliament, Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the rampage seen at protests organized by radical right-wing organizations in Chemnitz. The harshness of her comments were seen as atypical for Merkel, who is usually more restrained. She said there was no excuse for agitation, Nazi chants…