Could Nationalism Save Germany? With Will Wilkes
AND MERZ's major announcement vis Ukraine, Israel, and Germany's new role in global affairs
With Friedrich Merz officially at the helm, Germany is entering a new era. But with the AfD breathing down his neck – the country is actually more internally Disordered than outsiders may realise. We ask could the answer be a new – inclusive – brand of nationalism?
To find out, Jane Kinninmont is joined by Will Wilkes: Bloomberg News correspondent in Germany and co-author of ‘Broken Republik: The Inside Story of Germany's Descent into Crisis’. The pair discuss the current state of Germany, discussing how Germany's historical context – not just WWII but also the impact of the financial crisis and the refugee influx – has shaped its present situation. Plus: Germany's role in European security and the challenges posed by the rise of the far-right party, AFD.
And as Jane and Will Order the Disorder – they discuss how to create a cohesive German national identity – could it be fostering unity by creating new community celebrations?
(Listen on Apple Podcasts here; and Spotify here)
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BACKGROUND ON WILL AND MERZ
Broken Republik (English edition): https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/broken-republik-9781526679161/
Totally Kaputt (German edition): https://www.piper.de/buecher/totally-kaputt-isbn-978-3-492-07328-8
Friedrich Merz is no unifier – he may deepen Germany’s divides (The Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/05/germany-unifier-chancellor-divide-friedrich-merz
Germany’s identity crisis is 80 years in the making (Bloomberg): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-10/germany-s-political-center-challenged-by-afd-russia-china-and-trump?sref=ttOZ5TVM
Key Quotes
1 (Will) - Germany is in a fragile and uncertain place at the moment kind of politically, economically, and also socially. You know, for, for years. Especially during the period of Angela Merkel's Chancellorship, Germany was considered kind of the stable anchor of Europe. And it's now kind of dealing with the legitimacy crisis. Just look at the politics. The most recent election saw the main two centrist parties receive their lowest combined share of the vote since 1949. That, that alone shall shows kind of how deeply Public Trust in German institutions has eroded, and now the chancellor, Friedrich Merz is leading a coalition government with just like a bare 12 seat majority, now there are signs of hope and I think what people are talking to when they're saying perhaps Germany has turned a corner they're prepared to do unlimited spending on defense, which is a massive change from Germany's kind of post world Cold War but perhaps the reality is a bit more volatile than that.
2 (Will) - This won't make the German far right go away. And it could organize itself in different and more violent ways. It's a very fraught discussion for Germans and a lot of Germans are calling for the AfD to be banned. But I think that's the wrong way because like I said, it just treats the treats the symptom and not the cause. And the cause of the problem is this fragmented. Civic national identity. That's no counter to ethno nationalism and really if Germany really wants to properly tackle the far right, it needs a new social contract, it needs a positive civic, national identity that politicians and others can use as a counter to the siren, call of ethno nationalism.
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AND NOW AN UPDATE:
MERZ's major announcement vis Ukraine, Israel, and Germany's new role in global affairs
Speaking yesterday during a forum on European security, Merz signalled two significant policy shifts, saying Germany will no longer place restrictions on how far Ukraine can strike inside Russian territory, and saying that Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone beyond what’s justified by fighting Hamas. He’s pretty much in lockstep with the U.K. and France on both these. Listen to Jane Kinninmont on Disorder pose the fascinating question: ‘Could Nationalism Save Germany?’