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Tag Archives: German government

Germany almost has a new chancellor. But who is Olaf Scholz? Posted by on Nov 25, 2021

Olaf Scholz Man Person Politician

Last month, I wrote about the Ampel (traffic light) that was likely coming to Germany. This isn’t an actual traffic light, but rather a coalition of three political parties: the SPD, Greens and FDP. They now concluded their coalition talks and presented their coalition – including a new Bundeskanzler (m, federal chancellor) – Angela Merkel‘s successor. After 16…

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How Are Jamaica and German Traffic Lights Related? Posted by on Oct 28, 2021

After German elections, you might hear more and more about Kenia (Kenya), Jamaika (Jamaica) or die Ampel (traffic light). But how are these countries and a traffic light related to each other? It’s all in the political Koalitionen (coalitions). The Kenia-Koalition The Kenyan flag consists of three main colors: schwarz (black), rot (red) and grün (green). That would be a Koalition of the CDU/CSU in their black colors…

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How was a German lockdown announced AND revoked within one day? Posted by on Mar 25, 2021

It was a tough week for Bundeskanzlerin (f, Federal Chancellor) Angela Merkel. Due to the announced lockdown for Ostern (Easter), everyone went hart ins Gericht (“hard into court”) with her. With rising coronavirus cases, the planned Lockerungen (f, relaxations) of the COVID rules fielen ins Wasser (“fell in the water”). But what actually happened? A “knallharter Lockdown“ On Monday…

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The German Haushaltswoche – Part 1: Record Debt! Posted by on Dec 10, 2020

It’s an exciting week in the German Bundestag (the German legislative body, its lower house of Congress). Earlier this week, German Bundesfinanzminister (secretary of finance) Olaf Scholz presented the Haushaltsentwurf (budget draft) for 2021. The Bundesregierung (federal government) has agreed; now it’s time for the Bundestag to follow suit. But before that happens, they have four days to…

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Who’s John Doe in Germany? Posted by on Jul 28, 2020

If you don’t want to keep somebody’s name anonymous or if you simply need a placeholder, a common name to use is John Doe for men and Jane Doe for women, or Joe Bloggs or John Smith… There’s quite a list. How do we do it in Germany? The “Example Man” In Germany, we almost…

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German Word Of The Year 2018 Runners-Up (Part 1) Posted by on Apr 17, 2019

Guten Tag! As you may know from previous posts, each year the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (GfdS) – The German Language Association – picks a word as their ‘Wort des Jahres’ – ‘Word of the Year’. They also publish the top 10 most voted for out of all of the words submitted. You can read…

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Who’s Who In German Politics Posted by on Nov 7, 2018

Guten Tag! As you may have heard in the news, Angela Merkel will not be running for re-election as Bundeskanzlerin (Chancellor) of Germany in 2021 – nor will she be running to be elected as CDU party leader. She has been the German chancellor for almost 13 years, starting way back in 2005. So as…

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