Energy policy

Energy policy today determines whether Europe will still be a competitive continent in ten years' time. For decades, cheap energy was the foundation of industry, research and economic success. This foundation has been shaken in just a few years - by wrong political decisions, geopolitical risks and a misconceived climate strategy. In my analyses, I show how energy prices, geopolitical dependencies and technological developments are linked. If you want to understand why AI, raw materials and industry are equally linked to the energy issue, there is no way around a sober look at European energy policy.

Economic Growth: A Recipe for Success or a Thing of the Past?

by
Is Economic Growth a Thing of the Past?

For decades, economic growth has been regarded as one of the most important indicators of a society’s prosperity and economic strength. When the gross domestic product grows, this is generally seen as good news: companies invest, jobs are created, incomes can rise, and the government gains additional financial leeway. Growth therefore symbolizes not only economic success but often the success of a government as well.

Hardly any other economic indicator is followed with such close attention. Even slight changes in growth forecasts can move stock markets, spark political debates, and determine whether a country ventures into new investments or considers austerity measures. Yet for several years now, the notion of economic growth that is as sustainable as possible has been increasingly called into question. After all, a rising gross domestic product merely indicates, at first glance, that more goods and services have been produced or provided within an economy. It does not directly reveal whether people are actually living happier, healthier, or safer lives as a result.

This raises a fundamental question: Is economic growth really still the central goal that societies and governments should be striving for? Or do we now need additional criteria to assess a country's success?

Read more

42 Years of Election Platforms: How Germany's Political Parties Have Changed

by
A Comparison of German Political Parties' Election Platforms Over 42 Years

Political terms have a surprisingly long lifespan. For decades, we’ve been talking about the left and the right, about conservative and progressive, about liberal, social, or ecological. The words have remained largely the same. But does that also apply to the political positions they represent?

It was precisely this question that served as the starting point for this comparison. I am less interested in how political parties describe their own history today or how political developments are interpreted in hindsight. A simpler method strikes me as much more interesting: Take the campaign platforms from different decades and lay them side by side.

What did the CDU/CSU actually call for in 1983? What did the SPD say at that time about the economy, family, defense, or asylum? What were the Greens’ views on NATO, the Bundeswehr, and energy supply during their first federal election campaign? What did the FDP stand for? And which of those positions can still be found in their platforms in 1990 and, ultimately, in 2025? This analysis may reveal some interesting shifts. But exactly what those shifts are should not be predetermined at the outset of this article.

Read more

Wealth in the Ice – Why Greenland’s Resource Boom Remains Uncertain

by
Natural Resources in Greenland

Beneath Greenland’s ice lies a promise that has captured the imagination of politicians, businesses, and investors for years: rare earth elements, critical minerals, oil, gas, and other natural resources that could become increasingly important in a world hungry for raw materials. The more climate change alters the Arctic regions, the more often Greenland is described as a future winner in this development.

But it’s not that simple. Between geological deposits and economically viable extraction lie political decisions, high costs, a lack of infrastructure, fluctuating commodity prices, and a population that is not necessarily willing to support every form of industrial development. Greenland is thus less of a surefire raw materials giant than an example of just how wide the gap between potential and reality can be.

Read more

Donald Trump in the US system - origins, power, media and impact

by
Donald Trump in the USA system

Donald Trump is no ordinary political figure. He is not a classic statesman, not an ideologically trained party soldier, not a product of decades of Washington networks. Trump is one thing above all: a projection screen. For hopes, for fears, for anger, for rejection - and for expectations that go far beyond concrete policies. This is precisely the reason why a portrait of him makes sense. You don't have to like or dislike him, but he definitely makes something visible that was already there.

Trump does not just stand for decisions or programs. He represents a rupture in the political self-image of the Western world. And this rupture cannot be explained by viewing him merely as a „populist“, „provocateur“ or „accident of history“. If you want to understand Trump, you have to see him as both a symptom and an actor.

Read more

How the pandemic taught economists a lesson about inflation, growth and economic recovery

by
Economists' assumptions during the pandemic

Even during the coronavirus pandemic, many economists were surprisingly unanimous: the great danger was a phase of low inflation, perhaps even deflation. A few years later, the picture is different. Inflation reached historic highs in many countries, supply chains collapsed and economic developments turned out differently than expected.

The pandemic was not just a health crisis - it was also a stress test for economic forecasts. This article shows where experts were wrong, why this was the case and what lessons can be learned for future assessments.

Read more

Fracking, LNG and energy policy: a sober analysis of risks, opportunities and reality

by
Natural gas fracking and energy policy

There are political and social discussions that are not linear. They come in waves. Fracking is one such issue. For years, the matter in Germany seemed settled. With the legislative package of 2016 and the resulting regulation from 2017, the framework was clear: commercial fracking in unconventional reservoirs will not take place. The debate calmed down and the issue largely disappeared from the public eye. It was as if a lid had been put on it.

But this impression was deceptive. Because while the debate in Germany was dying down, the world was changing in the background. The energy supply, which had long been considered relatively stable, came under increasing pressure. Prices began to fluctuate, supply chains became more fragile and geopolitical tensions increased. The events from 2022 at the latest made it clear that energy is not a matter of course, but a strategic commodity.

Read more

Who actually is J. D. Vance? A portrait of his origins, career, contradictions and future

by
Who is J. D. Vance?

International reporting on the United States is usually dominated by the big, loud figures. Names that polarize, that provoke, that generate headlines. For many European observers, politics in the USA is therefore often an interplay of escalation, conflict and clearly recognizable opposites. And then suddenly a name appears that doesn't fit into this picture at all: J. D. Vance.

Not a classic loudspeaker. Not a man of grand gestures. Not a politician who immediately attracts attention with his pithy words. And yet he is suddenly there - in interviews, in analyses, in political debates. Not as a marginal figure, but as someone who obviously plays a role that is bigger than it appears at first glance. For many readers in Germany or Europe, this is precisely where the real question begins: who is this man anyway - and why has he suddenly become so important?

Read more

The Iran-Israel conflict: Why this escalation is the West's strategic nightmare

by
Israel-Iran - Strategic nightmare

There are moments in the story when you sense that something is shifting. Not abruptly, not with a single decision, but like a line that slowly but inexorably runs through the dust of old certainties. The past few days have been such moments. I wondered for a long time whether I should really write this editorial - after all, I have already dealt with Iran in detail once before and made it clear that you can only understand this country and its power structures if you look at the decades-old lines. But it is precisely these lines that have now become visible again, more clearly than ever.

What makes me sit up and take notice is not just the hard facts: the nightly strikes, the overloading of Israeli missile defenses, the rhetoric of political leaders, the increasing shift of power in the background. It is the underlying pattern - the sense that here is a conflict entering a phase that will be a nightmare for any strategist. And that is precisely why I am writing this article: because many see the surface, but hardly anyone understands what is brewing underneath.

Read more

↑