Free Democratic Party related content 

The vice-chancellor of Germany is young and has a great deal of responsibility on his shoulders. Philipp Rösler is just 38 years of age and already vice- chancellor of...

German Free Democrats change places. The 12 German Free Democrat (FDP) MEPs have reached a series of agreements to share out the spoils after Silvana Koch-Mehrin, the...

The German chancellor's communications failure is inextricably linked to how she operates politically. Stepping out of the arrivals hall of Berlin's Tegel airport last week,...

Plagiarism allegations prompt German Liberal to step down as vice-president of the European Parliament. Silvana Koch-Mehrin, a German Liberal MEP, has resigned from all the...

Social Democrats and Greens take control of Baden-Württemberg. Germany's Christian Democrats, the party of Chancellor Angela Merkel, have lost control of...

Germany's minister for economy and technology works hard, and his approach is bearing fruit. Some politicians grow into new jobs, while others never fill the shoes of their...

Ruling coalition loses majority, talks on new government expected to be difficult. Voters in the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia have booted out the ruling coalition...

One of Germany's most colourful politicians finally gets a top job. Attending his first European summit in Brussels at the end of October, Guido Westerwelle, Germany's ...

Two predecessors illuminate how Guido Westerwelle could leave his mark on German foreign policy. It is not easy being a European foreign minister these days. A 27-member EU...

Might the ascent of the Free Democrats break the vicious circle in which Germany and its neighbours find themselves? Eastern Europe owes a huge debt to the Germans. West...

Germany's Free Democrats have the power. Germany's Free Democrats became kingmakers in last Sunday's elections, scoring their best ever result with 14.6% of the vote and...

New faces being lined up to form centre-right government, but only minor policy shifts are expected. Yesterday's elections in Germany returned the liberal Free Democratic...

Liberals set to become kingmakers in Germany's general election, but EU issues not mentioned in election campaign. When Germany's 60 million voters go to the polls on 27...

CDU/CSU win 42 seats in the European Parliament elections despite a drop in support. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel remains Germany's...

"Can you really see Angela Merkel and Edmund Stoiber sitting round the table in dreadlocks? This is more our style. It's impossible." Joschka Fischer, leader of Germany's...

LOTS of losers emerge from Sunday's voting in Germany - from the unemployed worker to the most ardent European fonctionnaire. The only winners are perhaps Europe's newspaper...

I don't speak much Deutsch, but judging from the political analysis in Europe's media this week I'm inclined to believe that 'Merkel' is German for 'peak too soon'. Yes, the...

Should the German Liberals (FDP) do as well in the June European elections as they are in a current beauty contest among candidates to the European Parliament (on...

PUTTING a face to European politics has never come easy to most EU citizens, but Silvana Koch-Mehrin intends to change that. To some extent, the tall and slender 33-year-old...

AGAINST the backdrop of continuing strife in Iraq and the Middle East, defence was one of the dominant issues at the congress. Belgian Premier Guy Verhofstadt claimed the EU...