THANK YOU, VOLTERS!
You are the best bunch 💜.

See you there, who else is coming to Frankfurt next weekend?

"For most people, the courts will continue to operate as normal - until they don't." Aziz Huq projects Ernst Fraenkel's contemporary observations of the rise of the Nazi regime into present-day America. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

2025 was a year of significant progress for EU enlargement.

Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova stand out.

They advanced most on reforms in the past year.

Our candidates have ambitious goals to finish negotiations.

The coming year will be a moment of truth.

🌍 AI assistants distort news systematically across 22 public service media in 18 countries working in 14 languages.

A new joint BBC/EBU-led study – launched at our News Assembly – tells us AI poses a systemic risk to trust in journalism and democracy.

Read the report👉 social.ebu.ch/AIAssistants

During my time as an officer, I became acquainted with the Bundeswehr's unique leadership concept: "Innere Führung," which demands independent thinking, not blind obedience, and refusing criminal orders. What were these American officers thinking during yesterday's bizarre event? (Image: Reuters)

Talk is silver, listening is gold. Oliver Rohrbeck brings the detective series "The Three Investigators" to the stage as a hands-on radio play, featuring amateur artists. A wonderful experience and a reminder of how important listening is for constructive conversation. @rockybeachcom.bsky.social

"Project Freedom - Memmingen 1525" commemorates the peasant uprisings in southwest Germany 500 years ago. For the first time, peasants stood united against the authorities and wrote down their demands in 12 articles, which are now considered one of the earliest formulations of human rights.

Yesterday, Germany celebrated the power of books, literacy, and reason. During the Night of Libraries, libraries across the country welcomed the public until late and showcased their treasures. Our favorite: the Bavarian State Library, founded in 1558. Repeat, please! #NachtDerBibliotheken

On the day my daughter turned 18, the German far-right party had achieved 20.8% in the elections. We owe it to the next generation to hand over Europe stronger than we received it. To help with that, I joined the pan-European party Volt @voltdeutschland.org last week. #VoltDeutschland #VoltEurope

Thank you to my fellow voters in the Munich-South district. Together we achieved a voter turnout of 88.1% in the federal election - the highest in all of Germany!

Europe would have to invest 250 billion euros per year to be able to defend itself without help from the USA - a huge stimulus package for the strong European defense industry. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, we all thought we were in an age of lasting peace, but history took a different course.

Portuguese editorial cartoonist Zez Vaz reaches back to Tiananmen Square to call on American defiance.

Armin Maiwald is the opposite of social media. His interest in topics is genuine, he researches thoroughly and reports appreciatively. As an author, producer and speaker of the German show "Sendung mit der Maus", he has been explaining the world to children since 1971. Happy 85th birthday!

It's called "Made in Germany", not "Made by Germans". Bonita Grupp, who has been running the textile manufacturer Trigema since the beginning of 2024, has hit the nail on the head. Of a total of 1200 employees, 35% are from abroad and give the initiative "Made in Germany. Made by diversity" a face.

My best Christmas present: Weimar - The fight for democracy. A board game in which the players lead the four major parties (conservatives, socialists, communists, right-wing extremists) through the period 1918-1933 and can give history new directions. Oppressively topical in the year 2025!

Are we becoming a post-literate society? The OECD has done in-person assessments of the skills of 160,000 adults in 31 different countries & found literacy proficiency is stagnating or declining almots everywhere. Trump is a textbook president for a post-literate society www.ft.com/content/e2dd...

Read, baby, read! For 70 years, Pixi books have introduced children to the fascinating world of reading. 500 million copies have been sold, currently still priced at just 99 cents. Truly a reason to celebrate! Thanks to @lithaus.bsky.social for putting a wonderful anniversary exhibition together!

An insightful article from @financialtimes.com discusses the decline in literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills, as assessed by the OECD. One possible root cause is the consumption of information through algorithm-selected social media clips instead of longer, more complex pieces of writing.