Wolfgang Munchau: Germany is in trouble

📰 Subscribe to UnHerd today at: UnHerd’s Freddie Sayers meets Wolfgang Munchau. For decades, Germany was a beacon of centrist political stability. During her 16-year leadership, Angela Merkel led a succession of grand coalitions which neutralised the political extremes, and piloted her country through an era of steady economic growth. Today, that political settlement has dissolved. Germany’s reliance on Russian gas has devastated its industrial economy, while the surface tranquillity of the Merkel era is a distant memory. Alternative für Deutschland, a far-Right populist party, has been the beneficiary of this chaos, surging in the polls to become the second-most popular party in Germany. To understand this sudden reversal of fortunes and what it means for Europe and the world, Freddie Sayers spoke to Wolfgang Munchau, former co-editor of FT Deutschland, and founder and co-director of the Eurointelligence blog. Listen to the podcast: Follow UnHerd on social media: Twitter: Facebook: Instagram: TikTok: @unherdtv // TIMECODES // 00:00 - 01:18 - Introduction 01:18 - 04:22 - The rise of the AfD in Germany 04:22 - 08:20 - How immigration and economics fuelled the AfD 08:20 - 11:42 - Why did Germany shut down their nuclear power stations? 11:42 - 12:53 - It’s not a Left vs Right issue 12:53 - 14:45 - Why the German car industry is in trouble 14:45 - 16:59 - Who is to blame for Germany’s woes? 16:59 - 18:30 - The AfD’s rise is down to the incompetence of the German elites 18:30 - 19:40 - What happens next? 19:40 - 21:44 - What do Germans think about the Ukraine War? 21:44 - 27:11 - What kind of populist German political agenda would get support? 27:11 - 31:12 - What happens to Europe if Germany continues to decline? 31:12 - 35:05 - Could Brexit Britain escape the decline of Europe? 35:05 - 36:10 - Concluding thoughts #UnHerd #WolfgangMunchau #AFD