One moment he’s launching strikes, the next he’s declaring a ceasefire. At this speed, the surrealism of the Trump era is most evident. We journalists should be the ones to cut through that fog. Just not instantly.
Author: Ulrich Ladurner
Ulrich Ladurner is an Italian journalist from South Tyrol who works in Germany. He has long been an editor for the weekly newspaper Die Zeit and was its foreign correspondent from the crisis areas of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
As the conclave approaches, Vatican intrigue intensifies, with Italian ambitions, global rivalries and conservative strategy shaping the next papal election.
Germany is trying to avoid tariffs on Chinese electric cars because it is interested in selling its own cars to China — and wants to avoid direct confrontation. But the European Union has decided to impose new tariffs. All of this may wind up as a full-fledged new trade war between China and Germany.
After Italy and the Netherlands, Austria has also broken a post-War taboo in choosing the far-right party in Parliamentary elections. It is a direct challenge to the European Union’s founding ideals at a moment when global uncertainty requires a strong democratic voice.
With new border controls with its EU neighbors, Germany is once again proving that it does not trust its European partners. This puts the whole European single market project at risk.