German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil Under Scrutiny as Coalition Nears One-Year Mark

As Germany's black-red coalition government approaches its one-year anniversary on May 6, 2025, attention has turned to Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil of the SPD, who has largely escaped media scrutiny despite being, alongside Chancellor Friedrich Merz, an architect of the coalition's failures. The article, published in the German weekly 'Der Freitag', argues that Klingbeil's role deserves closer examination. The piece also references the Met Gala in New York City and the US troop withdrawal from Germany, suggesting that public debate around the latter should be less heated. The newsletter 'Endlich Freitag!' provides a daily perspective from the Freitag editorial team.