Why is Germany in a bit of a funk? How did the superstar of Europe go so far off the rails - even the German trains aren't running on time.

Germany is governed by a three party centre-left coalition that's in disarray, a snap election has been called for February, and polls show the main ruling SPD party is set to suffer a big loss. Meanwhile, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is the second most popular party.

Tobias Cremer is a German member of the European Parliament and he’s with the SPD party. But he was only elected a few months back so still has several years in parliament, at least. Tobias also has an interesting background researching the relationship between religion, secularisation and the rise of right-wing identity politics throughout western societies.

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Geraldine:  The Granddaughter By Bernhard Schlink

Hamish:  The Quiet German feature in The New Yorker 

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