Chris Reiter

Clearly mine. 😇 Merkel's book is an exercise in denial. She had the political capital and chose not to use it. Now she's trying to justify her inaction. 😔

Petition: Steuerprivilegien kippen! | Jetzt unterzeichnen In den letzten 30 Jahren wurden auf Druck der Lobby des großen Geldes immer mehr Steuerprivilegien geschaffen. Wir fordern daher die neuen Bundesregierung auf, diese endlich abzuschaffen.

Please support the petition from @finanzwende.de et al to end tax privileges for Germany's super rich.

Let's make change happen and support solidarity.

Jetzt unterzeichnen:: www.finanzwende.de/kampagnen/st...

Broken Republik: The Inside Story of Germany’s Descent into Crisis Buy Broken Republik: The Inside Story of Germany’s Descent into Crisis by Reiter, Chris, Wilkes, Will (ISBN: 9781526679147) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

More in my book with @willwilkes.bsky.social Broken Republik (English, @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social) and Totally Kaputt? (German, #PiperVerlag)

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1526679140

Germans are focused on preserving the present and don't expect brighter days ahead, and so debt is a burden and not an opportunity.

But the mindset creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Decline becomes inevitable.

That's an identity issue and it's why Germany needs a vision for the future.

Public finances aren't a Schwabian household (to use the German cliche). That was the idea of the "black zero" balanced budgets in the past, which left education and infrastructure trailing peers.

Debt is an investment in the future...if spent wisely. So fearing debt is fearing the future.

(S+) Lars Klingbeil als Finanzminister: König der Miesen Finanzminister Lars Klingbeil möchte in eine bessere Zukunft investieren. Doch seine Milliardenkredite sind eine große Last für künftige Generationen. Neue Schulden tun sich auf.

@derspiegel is worried about debt under Germany's new govt and says the borrowing will burden future generations.

But that's Germany talking itself into a downward spiral. #GermanAngst

Here's why that's the wrong approach:

www.spiegel.de/politik/deut...

Germany urgently needs to attract migrant workers – it just doesn’t want them to feel welcome | Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes Friedrich Merz is unwisely trying to revive the discredited postwar ‘guest worker’ programme, say journalists and authors Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes

Germany urgently needs migrants to bolster its workforce and fulfill public services, especially finance its mounting pension bill. But it's sending signals that migrants aren't wanted.

@willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about the issue for @theguardian.com 👇

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

If political actors show an understanding of people's problems and come up with viable solutions, they would blunt the AfD's appeal.

It should be a competition of ideas and not a battle in the courts.

The problem is the CDU and SPD have limited credibility since they've run Germany forever.

Compact-Urteil: Pressefreiheit auch für Feinde der Freiheit Das rechtsextreme Compact-Magazin durfte nach einem Urteil des Bundesverwaltungsgerichts nicht verboten werden. Chefredakteur Elsässer nutzt die Entscheidung zur Selbstinszenierung. Von Claudia Kornme...

The German govt tried and failed to ban right-wing magazine Compact.

Amid talk of an AfD ban, it shows that fighting extremism in the courts is fraught.

An approach that provides real solutions to the people and addresses their anxiety would be more promising.

www.tagesschau.de/inland/gesel...

Essay: Why Germany is losing the war at home Despite Chancellor Friedrich Merz's rearmament bravado, youth has lost trust in the state and doesn't want to fight.

@willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about Germany's challenges with supporting NATO.

Money isn't the main problem. It's soldiers. Germany's youth have little opportunity, so who would want to fight for their country? Answers need to be found.

www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...

Germany Needs a Holiday Today – Not to Recharge, But to Heal June 17 used to be a national day of remembrance in honor of the victims of the 1953 uprising in East Germany. It needs to be revived for any chance of unity.

June 17 used to be a holiday in West Germany to mark the deadly 1953 uprising in East Germany.

After reunification it was consider "Mission Accomplished." That was obviously premature.

Check out my pitch for its revival on @Hahauenstein.bsky.social's substack 👇

open.substack.com/pub/hannohau...

Germany is drifting into a Gastarbeiter mindset, where migrants are viewed as labor and not as people.

Without a course correction, it would be a disaster.

Germany needs to approach integration as a two-way street.

More from @willwilkes.bky.social and me in @surplusmagazin.bsky.social

The latest economics books Johan Norberg on what drove history’s influential civilisations; Ben Chu on the rise of zero-sum economic thinking; plus Germany’s decline and a must-read for monetary aficionados

@ft.com.web.brid.gy said my book Broken Republik with @willwilkes.bsky.social offered "a deeply insightful and fresh view" of Germany's challenges.

Check it out for yourself:
www.waterstones.com/book/broken-...

or straight from @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social 🙏

www.ft.com/content/1ff8...

Despite the challenges, it's not too late for Germany.

There's still enough substance that can be tapped to defuse ethnic nationalism and make Germany a nation to be proud of.

More obviously in our book:
Broken Republik (English) - amzn.eu/d/56WqhsR
Totally Kaputt? (deutsch) - amzn.eu/d/hy05nza

YouTube video by Mad in Germany with James Jackson Germany's post-N*zi identity crisis? w/ Broken Republik's Will Wilkes & Chris Reiter

Germany's memory culture has failed, allowing Nazi symbols to retain power to provoke and divide.

@willwilkes.bsky.social and I discussed the reasons why Germany is struggling with who it is with the Mad in Germany podcast.

Check it out 👇

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WigC...

Thank you 🙏

Germany was not liberated from the Nazis, it was the Nazis. It has acknowledged guilt, but not accepted responsibility.

These half-measures have prevented the creation of an inclusive civic identity and allowed ethnic nationalism to reemerge.

More in amzn.eu/d/56WqhsR
and amzn.eu/d/hy05nza

Deutschland wurde nie befreit – doch es ist höchste Zeit dafür Ein Gastbeitrag der Bloomberg-Journalisten und Autoren Chris Reiter und Will Wilkes.

Despite Germany's famed memory culture, the Nazi era is an unresolved national trauma. It paralyzes the country and keeps it from being able to evolve and pivot toward the future.

@willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about the issue (auf deutsch) for #thePioneer.

www.thepioneer.de/originals/th...

Broken Republik by Chris Reiter, Will Wilkes | Waterstones Buy Broken Republik by Chris Reiter, Will Wilkes from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.

And even more on the inside story of Germany's descent into crisis is in Broken Republik, my book with @willwilkes.bsky.social

www.waterstones.com/book/broken-...

Germany needs a unifier. In Merz, it is getting a chancellor whose instincts are to divide | Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes Merz takes charge as German industry buckles and social fractures deepen. He will struggle to bring a wary public with him, say authors Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes

Crazy day in German politics.

Friedrich Merz is officially chancellor, but his unprecedented failure in the first round of voting in the Bundestag will leave a mark.

Even more scrutiny on implementation now.

Yesterday, we laid out risks in The Guardian 👇

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

More of course in our book:
Broken Republik (English, Bloomsbury) - www.waterstones.com/book/broken-...
Totally Kaputt? (deutsch, Piper) - www.hugendubel.de/de/buch_gebu...

Germany needs a unifier. In Merz, it is getting a chancellor whose instincts are to divide | Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes Merz takes charge as German industry buckles and social fractures deepen. He will struggle to bring a wary public with him, say authors Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes

For the Guardian, @willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about the challenges Friedrich Merz will face as Germany's next chancellor.

Our adopted country needs him to be successful and that means uniting the people, but his instincts have been to divide.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Germany’s Red Tape Creates a Berlin-Sized Hole in Energy Shift Military airspace restrictions are holding up wind-power projects, highlighting the challenges for Germany’s energy and defense plans.

Military airspace rules have hampered the construction of enough wind power to supply a city like Berlin.

The bureaucratic tangle reflects the challenges that awaits Friedrich Merz's new government to revive the German economy. 👇

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

YouTube video by tvberlin Kurs Zukunft - das neue Kabinett steht (fast)! - Andruck

Talked about reinventing the "German Dream"...alongside the cloudy prospects for the new government here (auf deutsch) 👇

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrfV...

Totally kaputt? Deutschland gleicht einer Gründerzeitvilla: Die Fassade steht noch, aber überall zeigen sich tiefe Risse. Der Amerikaner Christopher Reiter und der Brite William Wilkes wohnen und arbeiten seit Jahren...

Mehr zum Buch:
📙 Totally Kaputt? (Deutsch) www.piper.de/buecher/tota...
📘 Broken Republik (English) www.bloomsbury.com/uk/broken-re...

Wir sind das Volk - Es ist Zeit, laut zu werden In den 1980er Jahren half „Wir sind das Volk!“, die Ostdeutschen in ihrem Kampf für die Freiheit zu mobilisieren. Die Zeit ist jetzt eine andere.

@willwilkes.bsky.social und ich haben einen Beitrag für @migazin.de geschrieben. Es ist ein Aufruf zum Handeln, der auf unser Buch „Total Kaputt?“ zurückgeht.

Deutschland droht zu zersplittern und die Menschen müssen sich zusammentun. Wir sind alle das Volk.

www.migazin.de/2025/04/15/w...

AfD up 6 points in Bavaria, to second place. CSU down 5 points.

Markus Soeder and co. are not blunting the nationalists by shifting to the right. They are enabling them.

What's needed is clear policies that show a path forward.

Yes, let's go. Spargel fûr Deutschland! Hollandaise is the sauce that binds us. 🤪

My "favorite" neudeutsch word is: nice.

The Long Shadow of German Reunification By Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes

@willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote something for Katja Hoyer's Zeitgeist substack.

Borrowing from our book Broken Republik / Totally Kaputt?, the piece looks at how reunification continues to ripple through Germany and why it went wrong.

Check it out 👇

www.katjahoyer.uk/p/the-long-s...