Cornelia Woll and Andrea Römmele evaluate German government after one year in office

Today marks the first year in office of the new German federal government. Across the German and European media landscape, Hertie School President Cornelia Woll and Dean of Executive Education Andrea Römmele comment on the government’s results. 

Since the beginning of the new term, the government has faced “tough day-to-day politics under high pressure and with very little room for manoeuvre,” Römmele commented in Bild on 5 December. "In this situation, the long-term vision and a common narrative have almost completely fallen by the wayside,” the Professor of Communication in Politics and Civil Society said. The new coalition government is "stuck in a kind of permanent crisis mode," she said a week later in the Financial Times.

Despite multiple crises, Woll provides an optimistic look into the future: “It is remarkable how many major and important decisions the coalition was able to take,” she said on Swiss broadcaster SRF, alluding to agreements on special funds for defence and to cover crises’ effects on domestic policy. The Professor of International Political Economy also reiterated this positive view of the coalition's achievements despite immense pressure, crises and different political agendas in La Vanguardia: "Being a three-party coalition, everyone has had to make concessions, especially the Greens and the Liberals.”

The two professors also commented in further media outlets including Bild am Sonntag, tagesschau24, SRF radio, ORF, RTL, RFI, les echos and many more.

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