Brussels, my love? EU reacts to German government collapse

Our guests this week include Klaus Welle, a conservative politician from the Wilfried Martens Centre, Belgian activist Adélaïde Charlier and Javi López, Vice-President of the European Parliament from the Spanish Socialists and Democrats.

We were thrilled to welcome a live studio audience to mark two years of the show.

The panel reacted to the fall of the German coalition government, with fresh elections called for next February — and most saw it as predictable.

“It’s also widely seen as a kind of relief, because the government had something in common on cultural issues, but they could never really agree on economics,” said Klaus Welle.

Javi López cited Germany’s addiction to Russian gas as a cause of its economic woes.

The panel also discussed the ongoing hearings taking place in the European Parliament to approve the incoming European Commission, and the latest report on war preparedness penned by former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.

Watch the “Brussels, my love?” special second birthday edition in the player above.