Change at All Costs
Election Impressions from Saxony-Anhalt At 5:59 pm on Sunday, September 6, the anticipation in the whimsical restaurant tucked inside Magdeburg’s historic Millennium Tower was palpable. With all screens turned to …
The Unloved Chancellor
Following the results of the recent Landtag elections in Saxony-Anhalt, the press is already preparing Friedrich Merz’s political obituary. While he may be responsible for some of the discontent and …
AGI Profiles: Kai Wegner
Mayor of Berlin Kai Wegner, Berlin’s first conservative mayor in twenty-two years, initially emerged as the figure who could restore the Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU) position in Berlin. Yet after …
The Language of Eastern Resentment
Of the three eastern German states I was responsible for as U.S. Consul General in Leipzig, Saxony-Anhalt always struck me as perhaps the most distinctly eastern. It was also a …
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He Inherited Freedom. Does He Believe It Is His?
At the risk of dating myself, I remember a very different mood among young people in post-communist Europe. I was a student in Prague in 1994, five years after the …
AGI Profiles: Alois Rainer
Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Regional Identity Alois Rainer is a member of the Bundestag from Straubing, Bavaria, and serves as Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Regional Identity (Bundesminister für …
Episode 154: Germany’s Autumn: The Regional and International Constraints on National Politics
Approval ratings for Chancellor Merz and his government are at historic lows, the war in Ukraine is in its fifth year, and instability abroad has led to economic challenges at …
AGI Profiles: Kristin Brinker
Member of the Berlin House of Representatives; AfD State Chairwoman in Berlin The outcome of Berlin’s September 20, 2026, election is far from clear. Polling remains volatile, with the positions …
Watching Ceuta, Thinking About Magdeburg
What Spain’s Border Tells Us About Eastern Germany In the last week of July, tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Spain’s Interior …
AGI Profiles: Nina Warken
Head of the Federal Chancellery Following the resignation of Jen Spahn, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s cabinet has been shaken up. Nina Warken was selected as Merz’s head of the Federal Chancellery, …
