Will Wilkes
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willwilkes.bsky.social
Will Wilkes
@willwilkes.bsky.social
Reporter @Bloomberg in Germany 🇩🇪 | Covering automaking, industry & the seismic shifts redefining Europe's largest economy | Views my own.



✉️ Tips/insights? DM or reach out.
📍 Based in Germany
Reposted by Will Wilkes
@willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote about Germany's challenges with supporting NATO.

Money isn't the main problem. It's soldiers. Germany's youth have little opportunity, so who would want to fight for their country? Answers need to be found.

www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...
Essay: Why Germany is losing the war at home
Despite Chancellor Friedrich Merz's rearmament bravado, youth has lost trust in the state and doesn't want to fight.
www.theparliamentmagazine.eu
June 17, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Will Wilkes
Guest contributions are now rolling out on my Substack. Kicking things off: an essay by Bloomberg journalists Chris Reiter @chrishreiter.bsky.social and Will Wilkes @willwilkes.bsky.social on why June 17 should be a national holiday in Germany.
hannohauenstein.substack.com/p/germany-re...
Germany Needs a Holiday Today – Not to Recharge, But to Heal
June 17 used to be a national day of remembrance in honor of the victims of the 1953 uprising in East Germany. It needs to be revived for any chance of unity.
hannohauenstein.substack.com
June 17, 2025 at 7:38 AM
I was delighted to join ‪@janekinninmont.bsky.social‬ on @disordershow.bsky.social, to discuss Germany – could nationalism help deter the right? You can hear my episode at tr.ee/ksicr-3Wty
The Disorder Podcast - Listen on YouTube, Spotify - Linktree
View disorderpod’s Linktree to discover and stream music from top platforms like YouTube, Spotify here. Your next favorite track is just a click away!
tr.ee
May 27, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by Will Wilkes
@ft.com.web.brid.gy said my book Broken Republik with @willwilkes.bsky.social offered "a deeply insightful and fresh view" of Germany's challenges.

Check it out for yourself:
www.waterstones.com/book/broken-...

or straight from @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social 🙏

www.ft.com/content/1ff8...
The latest economics books
Johan Norberg on what drove history’s influential civilisations; Ben Chu on the rise of zero-sum economic thinking; plus Germany’s decline and a must-read for monetary aficionados
www.ft.com
May 26, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Will Wilkes
Producer Simon considers visiting the Rundfunkmuseum in Fürth, while Nic & Simon wonder why a mysterious wooden phallus has appeared in a Munich street. They then try to explain a survey suggesting Germans have fallen out of love with Spargel.

Episode 232: Beerenverbände Ultras, Out Now!
May 24, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Reposted by Will Wilkes
Incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suffers an embarrassing setback after falling short of a majority in an initial vote in the lower house of parliament.
Merz Falls Short of Majority in Initial German Parliament Vote
Incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suffered an embarrassing setback when he fell short of a majority in an initial vote in the lower house of parliament, potentially delaying his swearing-in as head of government due to take place later on Tuesday.
bloom.bg
May 6, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Reposted by Will Wilkes
@willwilkes.bsky.social and I wrote something for Katja Hoyer's Zeitgeist substack.

Borrowing from our book Broken Republik / Totally Kaputt?, the piece looks at how reunification continues to ripple through Germany and why it went wrong.

Check it out 👇

www.katjahoyer.uk/p/the-long-s...
The Long Shadow of German Reunification
By Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes
www.katjahoyer.uk
April 10, 2025 at 6:07 AM
Reposted by Will Wilkes
Check out @willwilkes.bsky.social and I talking about our Book Broken Republik with @40percentgerman.bsky.social and @maddox84.bsky.social on the Decades from Home podcast.

It's not Germany does it worse, but Germans can do it better!

Here's a clip 👇
April 10, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Reposted by Will Wilkes
This week we’re joined by Chris Reiter & Will Wilkes to discuss their new book, "Broken Republik: The Inside Story of Germany’s Descent into Crisis", to discuss how Germany got into trouble, and how we might find a way out.

Find out more on Ep 225, coming Saturday!
April 4, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Reposted by Will Wilkes
What will it take to turn an ailing Germany around? We're not sure, but surely a €500 billion injection is a step in the right direction...right? We find out from Chris Reiter & Will Wilkes why things really aren't that simple.

Find out more on Ep 255, coming at 3pm today!
April 5, 2025 at 6:11 AM
Reposted by Will Wilkes
In an updated outtake from our book "Broken Republik" in the @thespectator1828.bsky.social, @willwilkes.bsky.social and I take a look at the risks facing Germany's marquis industry in the Trump era.

Spoiler alert: It doesn't look good.

www.spectator.co.uk/article/can-...
Can German cars survive Donald Trump?
Germany’s post-Cold War boom was built on a single assumption: that ever-deeper globalisation was here to stay.
www.spectator.co.uk
March 30, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by Will Wilkes
Germany's crisis is about more than a slumping economy and fragmented politics. Widening inequality and social polarization is undermining the idea of "Prosperity for All." Germany needs to find new ways to bring the nation together.

With @willwilkes.bsky.social

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Germany Is Suffering an Identity Crisis 80 Years in the Making
The political center is shrinking, making it difficult to enact the sort of changes the country needs to jump-start growth and restore competitiveness.
www.bloomberg.com
March 10, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Reposted by Will Wilkes
The Times reviewed my book Broken Republik with @willwilkes.bsky.social. Check it out. 👇

Amazon link here: amzn.eu/d/56WqhsR

www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
A stagnant economy and useless politicians – why Germany is in terminal decline
Broken Republik by the journalists Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes is an unforgiving indictment of a country in crisis
www.thetimes.com
March 7, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Reposted by Will Wilkes
Germany’s political frontlines shift to the downtrodden rust belt www.bloomberg.com/news/feature... via @willwilkes.bsky.social
January 11, 2025 at 6:42 AM
The EV revolution just hit a new speed bump. Ford will slash 4,000 jobs in Europe, citing sluggish demand and rising costs. Cuts will fall hardest in Germany, with almost 3,000 positions to go.

Is this a bump in the road or a red flag for the transition?

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Ford Plans 4,000 Job Cuts in Europe as EVs Lose Momentum
Ford Motor Co. will look to eliminate another 4,000 positions in Europe, further retrenching within a region where the transition to electric vehicles is losing traction industrywide.
www.bloomberg.com
November 21, 2024 at 7:45 AM
Germany faces a worsening problem: capital is fleeing the country. Our story shows how a €650 billion exodus contributed to the collapse of the ruling coalition and sparked tough questions about the future of Europe’s biggest economy:

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

#Germany #news #europe
The €650 Billion Exodus at the Heart of Germany’s Political Turmoil
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s fractious coalition struggled to stem a massive capital drain, which threatens to accelerate after Donald Trump’s re-election.
www.bloomberg.com
November 15, 2024 at 10:09 AM