Henning Hoff

Berlin

Executive Editor at INTERNATIONALE POLITIK QUARTERLY

Executive editor INTERNATIONALE POLITIK QUARTERLY @IPQuarterly /Editor-at-Large @Int_Politik, publ. by @dgapev Co-founder WELTKIOSK @weltkiosk lapsed Londoner

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Articles

Voted Out of Power, the Greens Are Still Shaping Germany

1 month ago | ip-quarterly.com | Henning Hoff

“The Greens are to blame!” At some point in 2024, when the popular frustration with outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ permanently bickering governing coalition of center-left Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) was at a high, it became fashionable to fault the Green Party for all that was wrong with Germany and the world at large.
The China Factor

1 month ago | ip-quarterly.com | Henning Hoff

2025 sees the 50th anniversary of the establishment of relations between China and the European Union. There’s not much of a festive mood in Brussels or Beijing, however. Suggestions that Chinese President Xi Jinping may pay a visit to the de facto EU capital for this year’s EU-China summit to mark the occasion have been rebuffed by the Chinese government. Xi will be sending Premier Li Qiang instead, while a date still needs to be fixed for the summit. In 2024, it didn’t take place at all.
Merz Gets Off to a Zigzagging Start

1 month ago | ip-quarterly.com | Henning Hoff

“Grand” isn’t what it used to be. When Angela Merkel built her first “grand” coalition between her center-right Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) back in 2005, its parliamentary majority was 448 out of 614 seats.
Getting Europe’s Defense Right

2 months ago | ip-quarterly.com | Henning Hoff

For Europe, defense is key. This is the message the Polish EU presidency is sending with its slogan “Security, Europe!” It is what is animating European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s second term. It is what NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte means when he calls for a “shift to a wartime mindset.” Now European states, including the United Kingdom, need to make it happen―and fast.
What Will Germany Do Next?

2 months ago | ip-quarterly.com | Henning Hoff

The so-called “traffic light” coalition government of Olaf Scholz, combining the chancellor’s Social Democrats (SPD) with the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), lasted less than three years. It may “only” have been a “transitional government,” as former Green leader Omid Nouripour (a foreign policy expert) described it in late summer 2024. At that time, the writing of an early end was already on the wall, and the self-chosen moniker of a “coalition for progress” sounded hollow.
The Status Quo Is History

Jan 7, 2025 | ip-quarterly.com | Henning Hoff

Historic change is always easier to spot in retrospect. In the speech defining his chancellorship, Olaf Scholz on February 27, 2022, spoke of a “Zeitenwende” (historic turn) when describing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine three days after President Vladimir Putin launched it. Yet, Germany’s squabbling coalition parties, and in particular the Free Democrats (FDP) who put party before country and forced an early break-up of the Scholz government last fall, never really rose to the occasion.
A Touch of Trumpism Reaches Germany’s Election Campaign

Jan 6, 2025 | ip-quarterly.com | Henning Hoff

“Only the AfD can save Germany.” With a post in support of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland on social media platform X, billionaire entrepreneur and US presidential advisor Elon Musk entered the German election campaign shortly before Christmas—and he has managed to dominate it over the holidays.
The Underwhelming Scholz Government Meets an Untimely End

Nov 7, 2024 | ip-quarterly.com | Henning Hoff

The early end of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ government had been anticipated, including by this column, for some time, but when it came late on Wednesday night, it still came with a twist. For weeks, Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the fiscally hawkish Free Democrats (FDP) had been obviously looking to create a situation that would make early elections inevitable. Last night, however, Scholz simply sacked him.
Waiting for Christian Lindner

Oct 16, 2024 | ip-quarterly.com | Henning Hoff

This fall in political Berlin, all eyes are on Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who is also the leader of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP). Lindner has made no secret of his party’s deep unhappiness with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ governing coalition, in which the FDP is the most junior of the three partners, together with Scholz’ center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens. Almost from the beginning, the FDP has often behaved as the government’s internal opposition.
Waiting for Lindner

Oct 16, 2024 | ip-quarterly.com | Henning Hoff

This fall in political Berlin, all eyes are on Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who is also the leader of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP). Lindner has made no secret of his party’s deep unhappiness with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ governing coalition, in which the FDP is the most junior of the three partners, together with Scholz’ center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens. Almost from the beginning, the FDP has often behaved as the government’s internal opposition.