The overzealous, over-event-managed celebration of 2009 — with circuitous, one-way routes, logjam entries and cops with machine guns — was a strange ossification of the spontaneity of 1989, writes Ben Gook from Berlin.
Angela Merkel
Letter from...: Fall of the Berlin Wall: the 20th anniversary
Downing Street plots to buy Blair’s way into the EU Presidency
British PM Gordon Brown is planning to buy off Angela Merkel and Nikolas Sarkozy’s votes for the European Union Presidency by offering them big jobs within the Union should Tony Blair get up.
Lessons from a new German government
The recent Germany elections have provided a few lessons that Australia could learn. For example, a coalition should be a post-election decision, not a permanent state of affairs.
Germans vote peacefully, but not quite contentedly
The results of the German election indicate Germans are dissatisfied with what they have been offered for so long, and in their calm, orderly way, are saying they would like to try something a bit different.
SPD smashed at German ballot box
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s dour triumph at the German polls says more about her hapless opposition, writes Humbolt University’s Charles McPhedran.
Political snippets: Paying for a Clinton plug
Former President Bill Clinton may have been dishing out the compliments to PM Kevin Rudd, but Rudd fails to mention that the Australian government is a donor to the Clinton foundation.
No winds of change in Germany, just storm clouds slowly gathering
It’s German elections time! With a fairly robust economy but unfairly distributed wealth, it’s a murky political mood in Germany. The Economist examines a country not pining for change, just stability.
Merkel looks for a narrower coalition
Germany votes on Sunday, with Christian Democrat chancellor Angela Merkel an unbackable favourite to be returned. But will the liberals distance themselves from the parties of the traditional left?
Political snippets: Townsville’s PET problems
Residents of Townsville are up in arms because north Queensland does not have its own PET scanner, Angela Merkel takes a train, and climate map galore.
Germany’s elections: more duet than duel
In a fortnight, Germans are heading to the polls in a rather odd election: the candidates have been governing together for four years in coalition.
How to be one of the 100 most powerful women in the world: tweeting helps
Forbes’ annual list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World was released on Wednesday. What are the secrets of their success? asks Elly Keating.
Political snippets: A rising toughness from the RSPCA
Richard Farmer says the RSPCA is getting tough on live sheep exports, Angela Merkel is getting her baps out, and he’s joining Twitter.
