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Germany's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) officially nominated Chancellor Olaf Scholz as the party's lead candidate going into the snap federal election on February 23.

Scholz's nomination comes after two weeks of tense discussions within the SPD as to whether to back the incumbent chancellor for a second term or to rally behind Defense Minister Boris Pistorius instead.

What are the SPD's chances?

Pistorius, currently Germany's most popular politician according to the polls, last week announced he would not be running for chancellor and offered his support to Scholz. This paved the way for Scholz to be nominated as the SPD's lead candidate, but his approval ratings remain low.

Pistorius is one of the 33 senior SPD members who unanimously voted for Scholz as the party's chancellor candidate on Monday.

Scholz's candidacy must now be officially confirmed at the party conference on January 11, a mere formality.

Scholz is the least popular chancellor in Germany since reunification in 1990, and he faces an uphill battle to win the election expected to take place on February 23.

The SPD is currently polling in third place, with a Saturday survey by pollster INSA published on Saturday put the party on 14% behind the opposition conservative CDU-CSU union on 32% and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on 19%.

Germany's SPD 'not looking good'

Germany's governing coalition collapsed earlier in November when Chancellor Scholz dismissed Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the business-focused Free Democrats (FDP), the junior partner in the "traffic light" coalition which also featured the Greens.

For the SPD, two weeks of internal wrangling over the chancellor candidacy look set to leave a mark.

At a meeting of the Young Socialists (Jungsozialisten or "Juso"), the SPD's official youth branch, this weekend, the party's leadership duo of Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil were accused of overseeing a "s***show."

Esken admitted that the party "really didn't look good," but Klingbeil defended the arguments.

"My leadership style is to listen to the party, conduct debates and think about different scenarios," he told Deutschlandfunk radio. "Now we are all called upon to click into gear and start the election campaign."

Who are the candidates for the German election?

From the collapsed coalition, the Greens have nominated current Economics Minister and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck with fellow party member Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock supporting his candidacy.

The conservative opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) are currently leading the polls with their candidate Friedrich Merz, while the AfD nominated leader Alice Weidel back in September.

It's the first ever time that the AfD, which is officially considered an "extreme-right" party by Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesverfassungsschutz or BfV), have nominated an official chancellor candidate.

mf/wd (AFP, dpa)

A cargo plane flying on behalf of German logistics company DHL crashed near Vilnius International Airport in Lithuania early on Monday, killing at least one person, according to Lithuanian officials.

The deceased person was confirmed by Lithuanian police to be a Spanish national and member of the flight crew, although not one of the pilots.

The other occupants of the plane — a German, a Lithuanian and another Spaniard — were reportedly injured, but their condition remained unclear.

What did DHL say?

"We can confirm that today, at approximately 4:30 am CET [0330 GMT], a Swiftair aircraft, operated by a service partner on behalf of DHL, performed an emergency landing about one kilometer from VNO Airport [Vilnius, Lithuania] while en route from LEJ Airport [Leipzig, Germany] to VNO Airport," the German company said.

A spokesperson for DHL Lithuania told the Reuters news agency that the company has opened an investigation, adding: "We do not have any information that any of the parcels onboard the crashed cargo plane were suspicious."

German investigators also said they were "in close contact with the involved parties at home and abroad in order to clarify the issue as soon as possible."

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing also said it was "working to gather more information" and stood "ready to provide any support."

Cause of the crash still unknown, terrorism not being ruled out

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but Lithuania's police chief Arunas Paulauskas did not rule out terrorism as a motive.

"This is one of the versions that needs to be investigated and verified. There is still much work ahead of us," Paulauskas said at a press briefing.

"These answers will not come so quickly," he added, saying that the crime scene probe, evidence collection, and gathering of information and objects could take an entire week. 

"Without a doubt, we cannot rule out the terrorism version," said Darius Jauniskis, chief of Lithuanian intelligence.

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was not ruling out sabotage and said the question of whether it was a "hybrid incident" needed to be asked.

"We must now seriously ask ourselves whether this was an accident or whether it was another hybrid incident," Annalena Baerbock told reporters at a G7 foreign ministers," said Baerbock on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy.

According to data from rescue services, emergency crews were alerted about the crash at 5:28 a.m. local time (0328 GMT). 

Vinca Snirpunas, a lecturer at the Aviation Institute at Vilnius Tech University, told DW that based on early signs, "we don't see any evidence of sabotage or intentional actions causing this accident."

He said the plane was on a typical approach to Vilnius before encountering difficulties just a few kilometers from the ground.

"We saw that there was no contact established with the tower of the Vilnius airport. So, therefore, we can think that there were some difficulties during the operation or flying the aircraft just before the crash."

What do we know so far about the DHL crash? 

The plane, operated by Swiftair, had originated in the German city of Leipzig, which is a hub for DHL.  

"It fell a few kilometers before the airport, it just skidded for a few hundred meters, its debris somewhat caught a residential house," Renatas Pozela, the head of the Lithuanian rescue service said. 

"Residential infrastructure around the house was on fire, and the house was slightly damaged, but we managed to evacuate people," he added. 

Twelve residents were evacuated from the building, according to officials. 

Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas said the plane missed the house "by chance" and crashed into the courtyard.

Series of cargo-related incidents

German security services warned back in August of "unconventional incendiary objects" being posted via cargo services.

Warnings were issued in connection to an object that caught fire at DHL's Leipzig logistics center in July, having reportedly been sent from the Baltic States.

Also in July, similar incidents were reported when devices caught fire at courier depots near Warsaw, Poland, and Birmingham in the United Kingdom, with Lithuanian Prosecutor General Nida Grunskiene saying that packages had originated in Lithuania.

Both Poland and Lithuania share borders with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, and sabotage was not ruled out.

"I can state that this is part of unconventional kinetic operations against NATO countries that are being undertaken by Russian military intelligence," Kestutis Budrys, a national security adviser to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, told the Reuters news agency earlier in November.

"We note that these operations are being escalated: their focus is moving ... to harming infrastructure and actions that could end up killing people," he added.

Moscow has denied the accusations.

kb,dvv/msh (Reuters, dpa, AP) 

Correction, 11.25.2024: A previous version of this article referred to Nida Grunskiene as the Polish prosecutor general instead of Lithuanian. This has now been corrected. We apologize for the error.

Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) — currently leading in polls ahead of the election on February 23 next year — want to cut welfare benefits and get more of the country's 5.5 million long-term unemployed into the labor market. 

They are also openly questioning whether Ukrainians should receive the standard unemployment benefit, called Bürgergeld ("citizens' income") rather than the lower asylum-seeker benefits. Following Russia's full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, refugees arriving in Germany and were subject to an EU Council Directive for temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons for whom the regular asylum procedures do not apply. They were granted temporary residency status and entitled to full social welfare benefits.

The CSU's Stephan Stracke, social policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU's parliamentary group, told DW that while anyone fleeing "war and violence" had a right to protection, "This does not mean, however, that there must be an automatic entitlement to the citizen's income in Germany." Instead, Stracke said, newly arrived Ukrainian war refugees should receive asylum-seeker benefits "at first."

Integration into the job market

Germany is currently home to around 1.2 million Ukrainian refugees, around 530,000 of whom are classified by the Federal Employment Agency as eligible to work and entitled to citizens' income (as of May 2024).

That means they receive an unemployment benefit of up to €563 ($596) per month plus their rent and heating costs paid by the state. There is an extra allowance for children, staggered by age, and around 360,000 of the Ukrainian refugees in Germany are children. Stracke's proposal — for Ukrainians to receive the standard asylum seekers' benefit instead — would mean that Ukrainians would receive only €460 per month.

The CDU's move is part of a general planned overhaul of the Bürgergeld system if they get into power, which will include tougher sanctions for refusing work and more mandatory visits to the authorities.

The tougher comments on Ukrainian refugees are not new among German conservatives: Two years ago, CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who is predicted to head Germany's next government questioned the Ukranians' need for protection: "We are now experiencing a form of social tourism among these refugees: to Germany, back to Ukraine, to Germany, back to Ukraine," Merz told the Bild TV outlet in 2022, triggering widespread outrage.

Ukrainians across Europe

In a newly updated study, the German Institute for Employment Research (IAB) found that Germany was struggling to integrate Ukrainians into the job market, at least compared with other countries — but also that the situation was improving: Only 27% of Ukrainians in Germany had found work as of March this year, compared to 57% in Lithuania and 53% in Denmark (though that was still ahead of Ukrainians in Norway, Spain, and Finland, where only around 20% had found work). — and finding childcare and schooling has become increasingly difficult.

According to Germany's right-wing parties, like the CDU and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the high number of refugees living off social welfare is partly down to the amount of money they receive. "Germany has obviously not been particularly successful in getting Ukrainian refugees into work so far," said Stracke. "Other European countries are doing much better. That is why we in Germany have to give more weight to the principle of supporting and challenging people to find work."

Getting qualifications recognized

But the IAB study also shows that the proportion of Ukrainians in work is steadily rising in all the European countries — and that there is little evidence to show that there is a correlation with the amount of state help they receive. More significant factors than benefits, the IAB said, were language barriers and demand for labor in the low-wage sector, where it is easier to find work.

Iryna Shulikina, executive director at the Berlin-based NGO Vitsche, which supports Ukrainian refugees in Germany, said Ukrainians encounter several obstacles to finding work in Germany, most notably getting through the bureaucratic process. According to the IAB, some 72% of Ukrainian refugees have either a university degree or a vocational qualification — more than other refugees or the German working population in general.

"When they come here, they face the difficulties of getting their diplomas approved here," Shulikina said.

To name one example: Though Germany faces a shortage of medical workers, Shulikina said she had spoken to Ukrainian medical workers who needed two and a half years to get to the stage where they could work: Applying for work, getting their documents and qualifications approved, doing the necessary tests, learning the language. "It's a real challenge," she said.

Election puts pressure on refugees

Whether a likely CDU-led government will succeed in changing conditions for Ukrainian refugees will depend also on its coalition partners: The center-left Social Democrats (SPD) are less inclined to crack down on social welfare recipients, while leading members of the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), have already expressed their support for recategorizing Ukrainian war refugees — even though the party's parliamentary group declined to state an official position to DW for this article.

Shulikina put the current political debate on the issue of Bürgergeld down to election campaigning and did not accept the argument that the citizens' income was keeping Ukrainian refugees at home.

"All the people I know who are refugees and have anything to do with the Job Center are doing everything possible to end this relationship," she said. "It's very humiliating and annoying. You are very dependent, and you are not perceived as an equal part of society — you're asked about every cent you spend and how and when. I don't believe there are a lot of people who enjoy getting Bürgergeld."

Lyudmyla Mlosch, chairperson of the Central Council of Ukrainians in Germany (ZVUD), said many Ukrainians she knows in Germany don't want to be here at all. "I know a lot of people here who are dreaming of going home, but they have no home — they've lost everything," said Mlosch. "Of course they need support."

But Mlosch did admit that some Ukrainians are more desperate than others: Those from the regions in the east that are under almost continual bombardment from Russia are more in need of state help, for example, as are older or sick people, or people who have no savings. "They don't need to all be put in the same bracket. But younger people who can work, they could have their money reduced, I could admit that," she said.

Edited by Rina Goldenberg

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

Friedrich Merz has a good chance of becoming Germany's next chancellor. As the leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) and the conservative parliamentary group that includes Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU), he will be the bloc's top candidate, taking on the Social Democrats (SPD) in the February 23 general election. Though Merz has never held government office, opinion polls suggest that he is the favorite in the race.
 
At the age of 69, Merz would become the oldest person to take office as Germany's head of government since Konrad Adenauer, who was 73 years old when he was sworn in as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic in 1949.
 
Merz has had two political lives: one before Angela Merkel came to power as chancellor in 2005 and the second after she exited in 2021.

He had slowly withdrawn from politics after Merkel's initial election as German chancellor. Merkel, who is often referred to as Merz's "nemesis," was a pragmatist and moderate who did not see eye to eye with the staunch conservative Friedrich Merz.

He then took a break from politics in 2009, returning to the Bundestag only in 2021 after Merkel had retired.

Merz hails from the rural Sauerland area of Germany's most-populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. He is a wealthy corporate lawyer, a father of three and a Catholic. He started his political career as amember of the European Parliament for the CDU in 1989, at the age of 33. Five years later, in 1994, he switched to the German lower house of Parliament, the Bundestag, where his sharp oratory skills drew attention. He became an influential member of the conservative parliamentary group (CDU/CSU).

Break from politics

Merz's withdrawal from politics dovetailed with successes in the private sector: From 2005 to 2021, he was a member of the international law firm Mayer Brown LLP and held top positions on supervisory and administrative boards. From 2016 to 2020, Merz was chairman of the supervisory board of the German arm of Blackrock, the world's largest asset manager.

In 2022, on Merz's third attempt at the post, the CDU elected him as party leader.

Merz had a reputation as an economically liberal representative of the conservative CDU wing. In 2008 he wrote a book entitled "Mehr Kapitalismus wagen" (Dare More Capitalism) championing a liberal economic policy, slashing bureaucracy, reducing social benefits and cutting taxes for companies. 

'Problems with foreigners'

In the 1990s, Merz was in the minority even in the conservative CDU when he voted against liberalizing the abortion law and against preimplantation genetic diagnostics in the Bundestag. When parliament passed a bill to criminalize marital rape like any other rape in 1997, Merz voted against it.

Merz has always been a supporter of nuclear energy and has expressed doubts over renewable energy sources such as "ugly" wind turbines. 

He drew flak in 2022 for flying his private jet to attend Finance Minister Christian Lindner's wedding on the island of Sylt at a time of rising energy prices caused by Russia's war on Ukraine.

Merz has also been accused of pandering to the far right with denigrating remarks about refugees.

On a TV talk show, he said female school teachers in Germany were experiencing a lack of respect from what he called "little pashas," apparently referring to sons of Muslim parents.

That remark came only weeks after Merz referred to some displaced Ukrainians as "welfare tourists" — claiming that many of them had come to Germany seeking safety, only to then travel back and forth between both countries once they have secured social benefits.

Merz later offered an apology of sorts: "I regret using the word 'welfare tourism.' It was an inaccurate description of a problem observed in individual cases."

Merz previously complained about "problems with foreigners" and insisted on a German "Leitkultur" (dominant culture),  a term dating back to the 1990s that many argue is a call for compulsory assimilation.

He represents a CDU that has become more conservative, although he has stated his refusal to cooperate with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). 

Shortly after Germany's center-left government collapsed on November 6, 2024, Merz stated in clear terms that the years of Scholz's coalition were now history, arguing that this had been a long time coming.

Merz is hoping that he and the CDU/CSU will replace Olaf Scholz and his minority government with the Greens following the February 23 election. It remains to be seen which coalition partners he would choose to form a new government.

This article was originally written in German.

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

American photographer, artist and activist Nan Goldin has caused outrage with a speech in Germany accusing Israel of "genocide in its conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon."

Goldin, who is of Jewish origin and among the most renowned artists in contemporary photography, also used the opening of her exhibition at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin on Friday to say that criticism of Israel doesn't equate to antisemitism.

German cultural leaders criticized Nan Goldin's speech for being one-sided but emphasized the importance of free expression and dialogue.

What did Nan Goldin say?

The 71-year-old Goldin began her almost 14-minute speech with four minutes of silence to remember victims of the conflict in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, as well as civilians killed in Israel.

The gallery's lifetime retrospective of Goldin, entitled "This Will Not End Well," showcases a comprehensive overview of her work, including slideshows and films, backed by music.

"I have decided to use this exhibition as a platform to amplify my position of moral outrage at the genocide in Gaza and Lebanon," Goldin then told the audience.

Her comments were made a day after the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"My grandparents escaped pogroms in Russia. I was brought up knowing about the Nazi Holocaust. What I see in Gaza reminds me of the pogroms that my grandparents escaped," she said.

"Never again means never again for everyone," Goldin added, referring to a phrase used by Germans as a key lesson of the Holocaust during World War II in which 6 million Jews were killed.

"What have you learned, Germany?" Goldin continued, attacking the country's handling of pro-Palestinian protests during the war.

She also spoke up about the treatment of artists and others who expressed harsh criticism of Israel, who have had exhibitions in Germany canceled or dealt with other repercussions.

Criticism of Israel has been conflated with antisemitism," Goldin said, adding that, "Anti-Zionism has nothing to do with antisemitism."

She then alleged that Islamophobia was being ignored in Germany, saying that the country is the "home of the largest Palestinian diaspora in Europe. Yet protests are met with police dogs and deportation and stigmatization." she said.

Goldin walked off the stage to loud chants of "free, free Palestine."

Speech criticized by politicians and cultural leaders

Museum director Klaus Biesenbach gave a speech after Goldin, defending Israel's right to exist, arguing the conflict started with the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, but he also called for sympathy toward the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza.

Biesenbach later released a statement, saying the gallery distanced itself from the protesters' stance, adding that it "stands for freedom of expression and respectful dialogue and interaction with each other."

German Culture Minister Claudia Roth denounced Goldin for her "unbearably one-sided political views" and said she was "appalled" at the way people in the audience chanted slogans like "Free Palestine."

But Roth rejected calls for a boycott of an upcoming symposium and said she hoped for an open and civilized debate.

The culture minister of Berlin state, Joe Chialo, also accused Goldin of "one-sidedness" and "obliviousness to history" with her remarks in Berlin, "the city in which the Holocaust was planned."

Hermann Parzinger, the president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, also sharply denounced Goldin's talk.

"This does not correspond to our understanding of freedom of expression," he said.

mm/lo (AP, dpa)

The German minority government made up of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens would definitely have preferred to avoid the issue, even if officials should have seen it coming a long time ago: The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The court said it had found sufficient evidence that both were complicit in crimes against humanity and war crimes as part of Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza. The military campaign began after Gaza-based group Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. An arrest warrant was also issued for Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif with the same charges, even though Israel says it killed Deif in July.

Germany is regarded as one of the biggest supporters of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which began its activities in July 2002 and is supported by 124  states. However, it does not include globally important states such as the US or Russia.

What is important in the current case is that the court has no means of enforcing the arrest warrants itself. Member states — including Germany — are formally obliged to take wanted persons into custody should they cross their borders. 

But there is also Germany's historic responsibility towards Israel. This is why Germany's reactions to the decision in The Hague have been mixed. Speaking on ARD television from the climate conference in Baku, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) was the first to react. "We abide by the law at the national, European, and international level," she said. "And that is why we are now examining exactly what this means for us in terms of its international application."

A short time later, the German government followed this up with a press release stating: "The German government has acknowledged the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to request arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant."

As in Baerbock's statement, the word "examination" appears here, too, which is what the government now plans to carry out. And it goes on to say: "Further action will be taken only once Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are expected to visit Germany."

No imminent plans for a Netanyahu visit

Netanyahu was last in Germany around a year and a half ago. And on Friday, other German government politicians stressed, almost with relief, that a visit was not to be expected in the foreseeable future. 

The last time Israel's head of government was in Berlin for political talks was in March 2023, a good six months before the murderous attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7. Hamas is a militant Palestinian group. The European Union, as well as the US, Germany and other countries, have listed it as a terrorist organization.

Israel is one of the 10 countries with which Germany holds intergovernmental consultations: Meetings in which all members of each country's cabinet get together. The purpose of this is to emphasize the special bilateral relationship between the countries. The first such meeting took place in Jerusalem in 2008 under then-Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), and the last was in October 2018.

Government spokesman finds it difficult to imagine an arrest

How does the German government intend to handle the ruling? This is what many journalists wanted to know at a recent press conference.

In response to a question about the conflict between the ruling of the ICC and showing solidarity with Israel, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said: "On the one hand, there is the importance of the International Criminal Court, which we strongly support, and on the other hand there is the historical responsibility you mentioned. This statement should be considered in the light of these two points. I would be inclined to say that I have difficulty imagining that we would make arrests in Germany on this basis."

While the federal government struggles to find a clear position between its support for Israel and its support for the ICC, other German politicians have had fewer qualms.

For example, Boris Rhein (CDU), who heads the government of the German state of Hesse, called the arrest warrants "absurd" on Friday. Rhein added that Israel has been at war for more than a year, a war that the terrorist organization Hamas unleashed with its attack on innocent citizens. "For me, it is completely out of the question that a democratically elected prime minister from Israel would be arrested on German soil for defending his country against terrorists," Rhein said.

But Rhein also knows that it is currently difficult to imagine Netanyahu visiting Germany.

This article was originally written in German.

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

It's an inconspicuous cable, thinner than a firehose, but equipped with eight high-performance fiber-optic pairs coated in steel and a waterproof protective layer.

The underwater communication cable Cinia C-Lion 1 connects the Finnish capital, Helsinki, with the German port city of Rostock, about 1,200 kilometers away. It serves as a sort of data highway, connecting data centers in northern and central Europe.

When it was laid across the Baltic Sea, an underwater plow was used to carve a meter-deep trench in the seabed to ensure that the cable would be very well protected. And yet, despite this, it was broken near Oland, an island just off the coast of Sweden, in the night of Sunday into Monday. Shortly before, another data cable running between Sweden and Lithuania sustained similar damage off the coast of Gotland, another Swedish Island.

The crew of a Chinese freighter, along with its Russian captain, are now suspected of sabotage. The cargo ship is believed to have passed both sites when the damage occurred. Citing public maritime data, the Swedish television channel SVT reported that the ship sailed from a Russian port. It was also said to have temporarily switched off the transponder required to determine its position.

According to the website marinetraffic.com, the ship is currently anchored in open water between the coasts of Sweden and Denmark. The Danish authorities report that their navy is closely monitoring the vessel.

Not the first incident in the Baltic Sea

Moritz Brake, an expert in maritime security at the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic, and Integration Studies (CASSIS) at the University of Bonn, says these events closely resemble an incident on October 7, 2023, which also occurred in the Baltic Sea.

Here too was a Chinese cargo ship involved. A container freighter sailing between Sweden, Finland, and Estonia under a Hong Kong flag damaged two data cables and the "Baltic Connector" gas pipeline with a trailing anchor — supposedly by accident.

Brake does not believe this was unintentional. "The anchor was dragged across the seabed for about 180 kilometers. That can't possibly be an accident, where nobody notices that it's happening."

Furthermore, the freighter was accompanied by supposed Russian research vessels, and the incident occurred on the birthday of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Those are just too many coincidences coming together all at once," says Brake.

Western intelligence agencies have long been concerned about supposed Russian research ships cruising the seas of northern Europe and potentially spying on Western infrastructure.

As far as the recently damaged data cables are concerned, they may not have needed to. The locations of undersea cables worldwide can easily be found in open-source data online.

In the case of the severed C-Lion 1 cable in the Baltic Sea, the Finnish operator Cinia had previously explained in a promotional video (now archived) that a large part of the cable was laid in 2015 parallel to the Nord Stream pipeline, which supplied Europe with Russian gas. This allowed Cinia to "rely on existing seabed surveys, enabling the project to be realized just one year after planning was initiated."

The Nord Stream pipeline was itself targeted with explosives in September 2022. It has still not been established who was behind that attack.

Limited damage but a powerful signal

The actual damage from this latest act of sabotage is limited.

"It happens 100 to 150 times around the world that cables are accidentally damaged," Brake told DW. "That's why infrastructure is designed so that other cables can offset the damage. It's really not a problem; generally, users don't even notice."

However, Brake emphasizes that this is critical infrastructure. More than 90% of global data traffic flows through undersea cables.

"If you deliberately target key nodes, if you demonstrate, as here, that two cables can be damaged within a short space of time, then it's possible that next time, even more cables could be damaged. And then we'll quickly encounter serious problems."

These acts of sabotage also affect our market economies, he says. Investors might be deterred from putting money into maritime infrastructure if protection cannot be guaranteed.

 "In Sweden, the government had to cancel several offshore wind projects because of defense concerns," Brake explains.

These actions also indicates something that should not be underestimated: There is a developing and "increasingly close collaboration between not just China and Russia, but also Iran and North Korea," Brake says. 

"They've been working together for a long time now to act against Western interests worldwide, sometimes with extreme measures, and now we see it in cases like these."

He believes that the West is being tested by these acts of sabotage. "The question is: How will we react to such an incident? Detaining the ship, NATO channels, information sharing — this is definitely the other side testing our response strategies."

Impossible to provide 100% protection

But how can we better protect ourselves against these acts of sabotage? Oceans cover three-quarters of the Earth's surface, and more than 500 data cables now lie in their waters, a total length that would go around the Earth 30 times. Data networks, maritime trade, oil and gas pipelines — all are affected, and, as Moritz Brake says, it's impossible to monitor and secure all of them comprehensively and all of the time: "The enemy only needs to succeed in one place, while we must constantly protect the entire global system."

So Western societies will have to find ways of dealing with acts of sabotage — but Brake says they are not powerless against them. "We can at least strengthen our monitoring capabilities so that we will be able to detect, document, prove, and reveal when other actors are wreaking havoc on our infrastructure."

This, he says, could be a way of deterring them. "We can show them: If you threaten us somewhere here, we can take countermeasures. Not in the same place, maybe, but somewhere else."

To Brake, the meaning of the latest incident is clear: "There are aggressors at sea who hope to remain unidentified. And we have to do something about that."

This article has been translated from German.

Germany's upper house of parliament has passed the law on the restructuring of the hospital sector, paving the way for its gradual implementation starting January 2025 and ending in 2029. The chamber representing Germany's 16 federal states passed the law following a heated debate, with the center-right Christian Democrats demanding more leeway for the implementation.

The hospital reform is the brainchild of Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who described the reform as "nothing short of a revolution." Speaking at an annual doctors' conference in early May, the German health minister said the reform plans they had been working on for two years marked a "Zeitenwende" (turning of the times) in German health care — an allusion to the military overhaul Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A new way to pay hospitals

The two-pronged hospital reform will change the way German hospitals are financed and impose new care standards.

Germany has the highest number of hospital beds per capita in the European Union, at 7.9 beds per 1,000 inhabitants, compared to the EU average of 5.3. But maintaining these is expensive. According to Lauterbach, this has left many hospitals on the brink of bankruptcy. The result is that patients are being kept in hospital unnecessarily so hospitals can charge health insurers extra money — which in turn drives up the whole country's health costs and insurance contributions.

The reform means that hospitals will no longer be paid per treatment — instead, they will get a guaranteed income for making certain services available. This, it is hoped, will alleviate the financial pressure on hospitals to pack in as many operations and treatments as they can, even if they are poorly qualified to carry them out.

This measure is supposed to ensure that patients needing complex treatments are referred to specialists earlier. This, according to the Health Ministry, will reduce health costs in the long run, as patients stand a better chance of being cured and are less likely to fall victim to mistakes, as hospital staff will be less rushed and overworked. Lauterbach has claimed this reform will save tens of thousands of lives a year.

Too many hospitals

"The hospital reform is right and important," Dirk Heinrich, an ear-nose-throat specialist and chairman of the doctors' association Virchowbund, told DW. "We do have too much in-patient care, but what is happening now is way too little. Reforming the hospitals without a comprehensive outpatient treatment reform, and without emergency care reform, won't make a difference."

Eugen Brysch, chairman of patients' protection organization Deutsche Stiftung Patientenschutz was also skeptical. "In the field of outpatient medical care, elderly, chronically ill and care-dependent people will find it almost impossible to find a new doctor," he said.

Germany also struggles with a lack of doctors' offices in rural areas, as fewer doctors want to live there. The Health Ministry wants to tackle this issue by offering extra money for clinics in rural areas. Here again, Brysch was cautious. 

"The fact that better earning opportunities are now being created will not in itself lead to more doctors in rural areas. After all, other location factors also play a role," he said.

One issue has been resolved in the new reforms: a cap on payments for general practitioners. Doctors have long complained about this budget limit — and occasionally gone on strike over it — because they say it often forces them to treat patients for free. Scrapping the cap, Lauterbach hopes, will provide doctors with incentives to take on more patients.

Heinrich welcomed this move, but again, said it failed to go far enough. "It stops halfway because the budgets remain in place for specialist doctors," he said. "It's no use for a patient if they get an appointment quicker at their family doctor but then have to wait months for a specialist."

Hospital reform — the steps ahead

"A few hundred hospitals will close," Lauterbach told the tabloid Bild am Sonntag after the reform passed the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, in October. There isn't enough medical demand for these hospitals, he added, explaining that one-third of all hospital beds are empty and still there aren't enough nurses.

"We have such an inefficient system, in no other country in Western Europe is life expectancy lower than in Germany," Lauterbach said, arguing that "centralization will improve the quality of care."

Health insurance contributions are set to increase next year also due to the reform. However, Lauterbach told Bild am Sonntag that he does not expect any further increases in the following year, if his health reform proposals are implemented.

Edited by: Rina Goldenberg

This article has been updated to reflect the passing of the law on November 22, 2024.

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Confidence in the German business world fell further than expected in November, compounding the economic outlook in a country poised to be the most sluggish performer in the Group of Seven (G7) this year.

According to Munich's Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Germany's rating on its business climate index slumped from 86.5 in October to 85.7 in November, 0.3 points more than analysts had predicted.

What is the Ifo business climate index?

The Ifo index is calculated based on a survey of around 9,000 companies in Europe's largest economy.

Its business confidence rating dropped from 85.7 to 84.3 in the same period, leading Ifo president Clemens Fuest to conclude: "The German economy is lacking strength."

Business expectations, however, only decreased marginally from 87.3 to 87.2, which Robin Winkler, chief economist for Germany at Deutsche Bank Research, finds remarkably stable given the collapse of Germany's coalition government earlier this month and the impending return of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Germany: Trump return could be 'negative' for trade

"Either German companies are not yet overly concerned about US trade policy or these concerns are being offset by the prospect of new elections in Germany," Winkler said.

The decline affected all sectors of the economy with the exception, intriguingly, of trade. According to Ifo, a more on-the-pulse assessment of the current situation may lead retailers and wholesalers to be less pessimistic.

However, as Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING, points out, the impact on Germany of Trump's return to the White House, tax cuts and deregulation in the United States and a potential trade war with the European Union is likely to be "a negative one."

Philipp Scheuermeyer, economist at public lender KfW, concurred, saying it was "no wonder" that the Ifo index had fallen. "Donald Trump's election victory is likely to create new headwinds for the already hard-hit German export industry," he said.

Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics, concluded: "The [Ifo] readings confirm that the German economy remains in the doldrums."

mf/msh (Reuters, AFP)

German automotive supplier Bosch plans to lay off 5,000 employees, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

The planned job cuts come as German auto companies push to reduce costs in order to stay competitive in the international market.

What do we know about the job cuts at Bosch?

Bosch's spokeswoman said that some 3,800 of the job cuts are to be made in Germany.

She added that the exact number of layoffs will be negotiated in talks with workers' representatives.

In a separate statement, Bosch said it was having to make significant investments in new technologies.

"We must adapt our structures to the changing market environment and reduce costs sustainably to strengthen our competitiveness," Bosch manager Stephan Hölzl said.

The firm also pointed to overall stagnation in the market.

"Global vehicle production will stagnate this year at around 93 million units, if not decline slightly compared to the previous year," Bosch said.

Workers' council head decries plans as 'slap in the face'

According to Bosch, manufacturers need significantly fewer parts to make electric vehicles, also making the process less labor-intensive. 

Bosch said it also planned to cut up to 1,300 jobs between 2027 and 2030 at its division that makes steering systems for cars and trucks, which is based in Swäbisch Gmünd in the southwestern German state of Baden Württemberg.

The firm had already announced plans in December 2023 to lay off 1,500 workers.

The head of the workers' council for Bosch's automotive division in Germany, Frank Sell, called the planned layoffs a "slap in the face" and vowed resistance to the move.

Crisis in German auto industry

The crisis has hit a number of other German manufacturers, with ZF, Continental and Webasto also announcing layoffs.

Volkswagen (VW) has said it plans wide-reaching plant closures and layoffs in order to reduce labor costs. The company has cited difficulties breaking into the competitive electric vehicle market.

On Thursday, workers' representatives urged VW to strike a deal and threatened potential industrial action starting in December if talks fall through.

Last month, the European Union increased tariffs on Chinese-imported electric vehicles to as much as 45.3%.

sdi/dj (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

 

Volkswagen Passenger Cars CEO Thomas Schäfer told the German Welt am Sonntag newspaper that the car giant will push forward with its factory closure plans despite criticism from unions. 

Schäfer says Volkswagen must 'adjust to new realities'  

"We need to reduce our capacities and adjust to new realities," Schäfer said.  

In October, the company's works council said the auto firm would close three factories, resulting in thousands of job cuts.

When asked by Welt am Sonntag whether the company could forgo one of the closures, Schäfer replied: "We do not currently see this."  

The Volkswagen executive also stood by plans to lay off workers, saying it would "not be enough" to downsize the workforce using early retirements and severance offers. 

"That would simply take too long," Schäfer said. He believes the downsizing plans would take three to four years.

"There is no point in dragging out a restructuring until 2035. The competition would have left us behind by then," Schäfer said.  

The Volkswagen executive said the company is facing higher labor costs in comparison with competitors. He also agreed that management should take salary cuts, one of the demands of the trade union IG Metall during negotiations.   

IG Metall union aims to put Volkswagen bosses 'under massive pressure'

Volkswagen labor representatives have backed limited strikes at German facilities from early December. IG Metall said the action would put Volkswagen "under massive pressure."

IG Metall negotiator Thorsten Gröger said the idea of plant closures and mass layoffs as proposed by management "is now leading to the threat of a labor dispute the intensity of which the country has not seen for a long time." 

Germany's powerhouse auto sector is facing a crisis amid declining European demand and tough competition from China. 

The slowdown also impacted other companies involved in the German auto industry..

On Friday, German auto parts supplier Bosch said it would let go 5,000 employees, with most of the layoffs occurring in Germany.

ZF Friedrichshafen, Continental AG, and Webasto Group are some of the other German auto part supply companies which have announced job cuts recently. 

wd/lo (AFP, dpa)   

Confronting Temu with the EU's allegations is like doing business with the popular Chinese shopping app. You'll get the information you want in many bits and pieces, just as Temu customers get their goods in lots of small packages.

It would take the length of this article just to line up the many pieces of information DW has received from Temu, one of which was Temu's standard phrase about "cooperating fully with [EU] regulatory authorities."

Temu appears to be used to responding to allegations, most probably because the company is constantly confronted with them.

In early 2024, the European Toy Association found safety risks in 95% of children's toys sold on Temu. The German Consumer Protection Association has repeatedly issued warnings, with the last such formal notice to stop its unlawful behavior or face a lawsuit sent this spring.

In October, the pressure on Temu increased again after the European Commission launched a formal investigation into the shopping platform's business model. Prominent on the EU executive arm's long list of complaints is the claim that Temu is exporting products to the EU that do not comply with the bloc's standards. Moreover, the Commission accuses the online retailer of offering fake discounts to customers, publishing fake reviews, insufficient vendor information, and having an addictive app design.

What's Temu's business model?

Outside of China, Temu first emerged in the United States in September 2022 with the claim it wants to give Americans greater access to Chinese products. Since then, the marketplace has experienced rapid growth not only in the US but at a global level.

From teeth-whitening powder to garden shears, Temu offers thousands of items at unbeatable prices. The products it sells usually arrive in various separate shipments directly from China. It is estimated that in Germany alone, 400,000 packages from Temu and the Chinese fashion marketplace Shein arrive every day.

Temu is in a position to offer its products at unbeatable bargain prices because it operates solely as a marketplace, meaning Temu customers usually receive their package directly from a manufacturer's or seller's warehouse in China. Temu only handles the financial transactions and, in some cases, the shipping. In any case, Temu acts only as an intermediary, earning a commission for its services.

This setup allows Temu to forgo stocking inventory almost entirely, thus reducing its costs. In turn, the practice also means longer delivery times for customers.

Alexander Graf, a German platform-economy expert, says longer delivery times are key to Temu's low-price business model.

"The Western e-commerce industry has evidently focused too long on shorter delivery times," said Graf, who is co-founder and co-CEO of Spryker, a software firm for e-commerce based in Berlin and New York. Apart from that, Temu's app "encourages consumers to shop more frequently," he told DW. 

Temu's strategy seems to be working nicely, given that it was the most downloaded iPhone app in the US in 2023, according to Apple.

So, within only two years, Temu has grown at a pace that it's become a rival to online retail behemoth Amazon, still the dominant player in the market, according to Graf. But Amazon is "struggling to compete with Temu on its main platform," he added. 

Under efforts to curb the rise of Temu in the US, Amazon, meanwhile, has launched its Amazon Haul advertising platform also featuring a colorful range of inexpensive items, but with noticeably longer delivery times compared to Amazon's core service.

Who owns Temu?

The owner of the shopping app that has alarmed consumer advocates is PDD Holdings. Listed on the US tech exchange Nasdaq, the firm noted the Irish capital of Dublin as its "principal executive office" in a 2023 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It had previously listed Shanghai as its main office.

PDD's key brand is the e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, owned by Chinese billionaire Colin Huang. Specific revenue and profit figures for Temu do not appear in PDD Holdings' financial statements, and the company remains tight-lipped. "As part of the Nasdaq-listed PDD Holdings, Temu does not disclose separate financial or operational metrics," a company spokesperson told DW.

Since April 2023, Temu has also been operating in Germany, though it has not disclosed how many people it employs here.

Temu unfazed by EU investigation

The EU investigation against Temu, launched on October 31, is the second probe against a Chinese e-commerce platform following action against the online retailer Aliexpress. The bloc's so-called Digital Services Act allows the EU Commission to scrutinize any online retailer classified as a "large platform" with more than 45 million users.

The EU Commission investigation has given Temu until early December to offer so-called remedies and make adjustments to its business model. If it fails to comply, the platform will face hefty fines.

EU taxation policy helps Temu advance

A major issue not addressed by the EU probe, however, is Temu's practice of exporting its goods to Europe largely duty-free. Under EU rules, shipments valued at under €150 can be imported without paying any tariff, says taxation expert Roger Gothmann, who believes that Temu's success relies hugely on exploiting the loophole.

"A large portion of shopping baskets on Temu stays under €150. Without this [duty-free] threshold, Temu couldn't offer such low prices," he told DW.

The CEO of Taxdoo, a Hamburg, Germany-based company offering accounting and VAT software for online merchants, believes closing the loophole could potentially slow down Temu's growth in Europe. He suspects that Temu deliberately splits larger orders to stay under the duty-free threshold. Spot checks by customs officials have confirmed Temu is using this strategy, he said.

Despite the duty-free status of many of Temu's imports, the shopping app still has to pay so-called import value-added tax (VAT) to the tax authorities in Ireland, where it's based, Gothmann added. Theoretically, the Irish state would then have to distribute Temu's tax payments to other EU states like Germany, where it is conducting its business. Yet, data-sharing remains cumbersome and is rarely carried out, Gothmann criticizes, and advocates for stricter oversight of marketplaces like Temu and the enforcement of existing laws. Equipping authorities with modern analytical tools could also be helpful, he said.

Unsurprisingly, Temu denies claims it violates EU taxation rules, asserting that its growth "does not depend on duty-free imports" and that it "does not split packages" to evade customs checks.

While the EU has proposed eliminating the duty-free limit by 2028, and wants to establish an EU-wide data hub for customs data, Alexander Graf believes Temu's rise cannot be stopped. Pointing to the dominance of Temu's parent company, Pinduoduo, which "outpaced existing platforms in Asia within five years," he said: "In any case, the industry must adapt to Temu's new business model. The number of packages arriving from China is unlikely to decrease."

This article was originally written in German.

The Federal Statistical Office, or Destatis, reported on Friday that the German economy grew less than analysts expected in the third quarter of 2024.

Gross domestic product grew by only 0.1% compared to the second quarter, less than the preliminary estimate of 0.2%.

This year, Germany has only narrowly avoided a recession, defined by two consecutive quarters of shrinkage.

Household consumption rose by a modest 0.3% compared to the previous quarter, and government spending rose by about 0.4%.

Exports of goods, a key factor in Germany's economy, fell by about 2.4%.

Inflation, industrial downturn contributing factors

The German economy has faced a decline in industrial orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Despite sinking inflation, the country has been struggling to turn its beleaguered economy around. One of the most striking examples of the economic malaise has been the crisis at Volkswagen, a company once synonymous with German prosperity, which is trying to slash billions from its budget and close several factories across the country.

Indeed, the economy is mostly to blame for the collapse of the coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier this month.

Economists are hoping that a continued downward trend for inflation and slight increases in average wages will drive consumer spending in the last quarter of the year.

es/lo (dpa, Reuters)

Workers' representatives have called for a deal in collective bargaining talks with Volkswagen (VW) by Christmas, the IG Metall trade union and VW's workers' council said on Thursday.

VW is Europe's largest automaker and has threatened plant closures and layoffs in a bid to reduce labor costs.

What did the trade union and workers' council say?

IG Metall's chief negotiator, Thorsten Gröger, urged VW to take on a "constructive" role while speaking ahead of talks on Thursday in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony.

"We expect Volkswagen to embark on this constructive solution path with us today and to enter into a negotiation process now," he said.

Gröger accused VW management of wasting time in discussions so far and said that IG Metall's decision on whether to call a strike would depend on the results of Thursday's talks. 

The chairwoman of the company's workers' council, Daniela Cavallo, said, "We want to resolve this uncertainty as quickly as possible and let our colleagues know before Christmas how things will continue at Volkswagen."

She described the threat of mass layoffs and plant closures as "maximum provocation" and called for the firm to put forward constructive proposals to solve its crisis.

"The employer side should not make the mistake of assuming that the workforce is not ready to fight," she said, in an apparent reference to future labor action if no deal is struck.

What else do we know about the negotiations?

A mandated moratorium on industrial action during initial talks is due to expire at the end of November, meaning that warning strikes are possible starting from December 1.

On Wednesday, IG Metall and the VW workers' council offered to take pay cuts in order to avoid mass lay-offs and plant closures. They said that the proposal would result in savings of  €1.5 billion ($1.58 billion) in labor costs.

VW is demanding an across-the-board pay cut of 10% for workers in Germany.

The firm's executives have said that it is struggling with high labor costs and difficulties breaking into the competitive electric vehicle market.

Earlier this month, VW said it was committing to a $5.8 billion investment to boost its transition to electric vehicles in cooperation with US firm Rivian.

sdi/sms (dpa, Reuters)

1. Carnival begins

The 11th day of the 11th month is a magical date for Carnival lovers. In German Carnival strongholds, which include the Rhineland, and especially Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Aachen and Mainz, the season officially begins at precisely 11:11 a.m. on November 11.

A jester called "Hoppeditz" awakes in Düsseldorf. Cologne greets its triumvirate of fools — Prinz, Bauer and Jungfrau (prince, peasant and maiden) — and the traditional "Fool's Charter" is read in Mainz, accompanied by the famous "Narhalla" parade. These celebrations usually take place on the main square or in front of city hall in different cities. People go out wearing costumes, and local musicians as well as loads of alcohol keep the party going all day long. Some will keep partying throughout the night, as bars are also in carnival fever.

2. The carnival 'sessions'

Official carnival clubs in the German strongholds begin their program in January. Yet the "alternative" carnival already gets going in December. That's why you can sometimes see people wearing costumes ahead of Christmas — and they're not going as Santa Claus.

In Cologne, the carnival gala called "Stunksitzung" is particularly popular. The anarchist cabaret show has been held there for over 40 years. The thousands of tickets are always sold out within just a few hours. Other "Sitzungen" (which means sessions, but they're actually stage shows) organized by carnival associations take place in January. Other "official" events include performances by local bands, choirs and orchestras, as well as dance groups. In Mainz, these events are rather political and literary.

3. Mainz acts foolish on New Year's Day

After November 11, it's mostly quiet in Mainz. People rather focus on the upcoming Advent season.

Yet on January 1, Mainz celebrates its official street carnival, called the "Kampagne" (or campaign).

November 11 is just a prelude to the real action launching the new year, explains Lothar Both, the President of the "Ranzengarde," a carnival club in Mainz. There, a parade goes through the city at 11:11 a.m. All those who have survived their New Year's Eve party can just keep on drinking while the carnival clubs and their guards march through the streets with their brass bands and drums.

4. Let's sing in Cologne

Established nearly a decade ago, another "campaign" has turned into a real cultural event in Cologne. It's called "LMS," and it aims to introduce everyone to new Carnival songs.

LMS stands for "Loss mer singe," which is dialect for "Let's sing." This event takes the form of a tour of the pubs of Cologne, where hundreds of people practice the new season's songs together. A winner is chosen at the end of the evening.

5. Bivouacs in Dusseldorf

The carnival clubs in Dusseldorf organize events called "Biwaks" (Bivouacs), to introduce themselves to the population, or the "fools." At the beginning of January, these events are held everywhere and include music, snacks and drinks — providing yet another opportunity to party. Obviously, most of these parties begin at 11:11 a.m.

6. Proclamation of the 'prince' in Cologne

The "Dreigestirm" or "triumvirate of fools" rules on Carnival in Cologne. This triumvirate consists of the prince, the peasant and the maiden (also portrayed by a man dressed as a female).

At the beginning of January, these three high representatives of the Cologne Carnival come out in their magnificent costumes. During the proclamation of the prince, the mayor of the city gives him his "Pritsche" (a kind of flat whip), which the prince then symbolically swings around over his "foolish" people.

The peasant represents the fact that Cologne freed itself from the power of the archbishops. As "Mother Colonia," the maiden protects the city.

Meanwhile, more and more people are calling for women to play the role of the "prince" in the triumvirate — a carnival princess instead of a prince. But Cologne's 200-year-old traditional carnival surely needs a little more time for such "revolutionary" ideas.

7. 'Weiberfastnacht,' or Fat Thursday

The last Thursday before Lent is very similar to the November 11 party. On market squares of different carnival strongholds, thousands of fools and jesters take to the streets, at 11:11 a.m. of course, to enjoy speeches, music and even more alcohol. True carnival professionals don't hold back — they'll take a week off until Ash Wednesday to party extensively before Lent starts.

8. Barrel races and school parades

Beyond the countless carnival parties, other traditions are maintained.

In Cologne on Carnival Sunday, small parades called "Schull- und Veedelszöch" go through the different neighborhoods of the city. A good 8,000 people participate in the city parades organized by schools and local carnival clubs. They are original, political, sometimes a little chaotic and above all, colorful, not least because of the often completely homemade costumes. The group with the best and most imaginative costumes is selected by a jury and is allowed to take part again in the huge Rose Monday parade, a major recognition for Cologne carnival fans.

In Dusseldorf, the neighborhood of Niederkassel celebrates the Sunday before Rose Monday with a traditional barrel race. Participants roll wheelbarrows around a racetrack. Traditionally, there is a team of princes and farmers in the race. Sometimes, the mayor of the city also participates.

9. 'Rosenmontag,' or Rose Monday

The Rose Monday parades in Dusseldorf, Cologne and Mainz are now world-famous. International TV stations film these. For carnival-goers, they are the climax of the carnival season.

Colorful floats poking fun at politicians alternate with brass bands and dance groups organized by carnival associations. Throughout the parade, candies and small bouquets of flowers are thrown at the crowd.

At the end of the parade always comes the prince's sumptuously decorated float. For the carnival rulers, this parade closes a week of tightly scheduled duties.

10. 'Nubbelverbrennung,' or burning of the straw man

A huge straw man called "Nubbel" hangs above pubs in Cologne. It is burned in the night before Ash Wednesday. The Nubbel stands for all the sins committed by the fools during carnival season, as well as all other recent misfortunes — for example, if the local football club lost their last game.

In Dusseldorf, a similar character called "Hoppeditz" is burned that night.

11. Fish on Ash Wednesday

On Ash Wednesday, Lent begins and goes on until Good Friday. For strict Catholics, this means going through a period of six weeks without eating meat, with fish being allowed on Fridays.

Some non-Catholics also pick something they will stop consuming during that period, for example, alcohol, tobacco or even the internet. A traditional meal of fish launches the fasting period on Ash Wednesday.

 

This article, originally written in German, is an updated version of one published in November 2015.