Left, right and centre: Germany’s election

When Alexis de Tocqueville visited America from France in 1831 he saw a new kind of society. Not just a country, but an idea that would change the world. His book “Democracy in America” was a big influence on later generations of writers and thinkers, including The Economist’s US ...  Show more

Andy Burnham won a by-election he needed in order to challenge Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s prime minister. We look at the path ahead for him. The Iran deal seemingly promises a financial windfall for the country and its regime—one that its battered economy sorely needs. And the m ...  Show more

Instead of needing three parties to cobble together a majority, the country’s two traditional main ones <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/02/23/friedrich-merz-wins-germanys-election-but-forming-a-coalition-will-be-hard?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np ...

Our correspondent interviews Sahra Wagenknecht, the popular leftist whose eponymous political party is now making the <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/09/05/germanys-party-system-is-coming-under-unprecedented-strain?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&u ...

At a time when Russia is making gains in Ukraine and Donald Trump has been re-elected as president, Europe needs strong leadership. Instead, <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/11/07/europe-needs-to-wake-up-and-look-after-itself?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.p ...

During a 90-minute telephone conversation, the American and Russian presidents <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/02/12/donald-trump-starts-immediate-talks-with-vladimir-putin-on-ukraine?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_c ...