The SPD has rolled over for the CDU in the past on things, but they've also blocked things they thought were important enough to block, so it's really anyone's guess if this go through (I personally wouldn't bet on it, but I'm sure a bunch of dour pessimists will come explain to me that it's a foregone conclusion and I'm naive).
After that debacle I honestly cannot understand how anyone with even an iota of integrity can vote for them again and think any of them would ever act in the interests of their people
Well, there is actually a very old song about them, here in a new version (that is also already quite old by now)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vFL0QWxugI
But the answer is probably lack of real alternatives.
And yes, no idea why the SPD is so on board with this - some measures, like having to provide a medical certificate from the first day of an illness (which in practice means you have to go see a doctor personally on the first day of sickness), are definitely not going to increase the dismal approval ratings of this government. So, for example, if you're prone to migraines, until now you would have simply called in sick for a day, now you have to drag yourself to the doctor, only for them to tell you (after potentially hours of waiting) "oh, you do look very pale and sickly today, you probably do have a migraine, here's the certificate. I assume you already took one or several headache pills? Now please, go home and rest."?!
It is still very worrying and the unfortunate result of a lot of things going wrong at the cabinet level.
The US is unusual as a federation. Some parts decline, others rise. I think it’s resilient. And every time something goes wrong, America pulls out a magic new technology. We will see if R&D will carry the day again.
The Swiss?
Norway?
And I was in Serbia lately, and while it was not as developed as NW-EU, nobody there described it as decaying (and many said they experiences decay when living in western nations over the past 2 decades).
Denmark is not just decayed, it is completely rotten.
I don't know about the truthness of this claim, but you are definitely getting the upvote for the humour.
The only country in Europe that is the exception is Norway which is not part of the EU.
With OP postulating that it is to enable corruption, and a sub-reply affirming that it is therefore the trait of a country in decay, bringing in Serbia as a counter-example is hilarious.
Serbia ranks 116th in the corruption perception index, Germany 10th. (Lower is better)
Yeah, a lot of the western countries that aren't wealthy enough to afford the luxury of indulging in absurd farcical politics and policies over the past 40yr are doing pretty decent.
There's very little value in a statement like yours. It's a truism that has never been correct.
Just because successive generations make the same observations about <X> doesn't mean that <X> hasn't actually been steadily declining, you know.
Maybe the other western countries are equally infertile, but just allowed many immigrants in (which counts are population expansion) that also have more children on average.
How are Japan and Korea holing out? They are further down the infertility down-spiral.
https://japandaily.jp/why-japanese-elders-choose-prison-over...
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/1-in-3-south-kor...
Westerners have been the biggest victims of propaganda in the history of the world.
But You can't just deny the political problems. Propably some Americans do it - to cope with Trump who is worser than any PiS president. Poland has the EU as democratic layer but US with Trump doesnt have it.
Barely, and it was in a recession 2023-2024.
So, maybe rapid growth combined with consumerist impulses is a deadly combination for a society. If only rapid growth were combined with healthy and wise priorities...
The volume of FOI requests we get is huge and they are more time intensive than ever, due to the fact most are now written by llms.
I see no reason why the taxpayers of any EU country should be footing the bill for requests from non EU citizens. These requests take a significant amount of public sector resources to compile records and deliver decisions. Given this, why should a non-EU citizen's request be held in equal esteem to EU citizens'?
It comes down to the intent behind these laws. Is it to provide transparency to the citizens that government are accountable to or is it to provide records/information to anyone from anywhere in the world.
My country differs from Germany in that our Freedom of Information laws are much broader and allow anyone to request virtually any record held by a public body, with the grounds for refusal being narrower. For example, generic day to day email exchanges between low level public officials are requestable and we have to argue why it is against the public interest to release them.
While we're trying to publish as much data that is of public interest ad possible, it's proving very difficult to anticipate many of these requests.
In my organisation in particular - we're receiving requests from consultation firms outside the EU on costings for certain services. So we(The taxpayer) are essentially doing their research for them.
Why not make those emails public to begin with?
There's no need to compile/publish if all data is public to begin with.
Also no more NGOs. They were the ones who had the most power to wrestle information out of the hands of rather unwilling parties. The cost of going to court for this would deter most private persons.
Citizen: Pays again to get access to the info
Also also want to invoice you for all costs that your request causes. Previously it was capped at 500€. So your request could cost you thousands of euros. You are at the mercy of the government how many people are working on your request and how efficient they process it.
To be clear, it is currently costing the taxpayer said thousands of Euros. Time spent by government workers on FoI requests is meaningful and not free. That does not make them a bad idea, but we should be clear that passing costs on to the requester isn't precisely nefarious?
Of course there should probably be a way to limit waste, but putting all financial cost onto a single person is a way to effectively limit freedom of information to the point where it contradicts and undermines the whole idea behind it. That's one of the reasons why this change is being proposed, and it is not a stretch to call this nefarious.
The current cap of 500€ is a good compromise IMHO: It deters people from issuing unnecessary FoI requests while at the same time keeping it in reach for the average person if they really want that information.
For what it’s worth, only a handful of US states have a residency requirement for FOIA requests.
The main "purpose" for such information is to be published, and at that point it makes no difference who exactly requested it.
Personal view:
The current mainly governing party in Germany (CDU/CSU) is a bunch of incompetent, nepotistic gerontocrats, and this change is mainly intended to make it harder for independent press to air their dirty laundry.
Just for reference: Approval rating for Merz (chancellor) is under 20% (!!); even Trump is >35%.
There is no freedom in Germany. The mistakes of the past did not change anyone's mindset about human rights and freedom. They only learned how to put on a facade of caring about them. And they are the most powerful member of the European Union.
As if anybody who experienced this themselves has a big influence on current politics...WW2 ended 81 years ago
It won't happen though. It'll be AfD.
But then again in a democracy the politicians must listen to peoples vote instead of preaching them and if that has happened in Germany, they they would already be having a center right government instead of the current circus
if your definition of center right is fdp then get ready for even more corruption and corporate capture of everything that matters. privatized railways and utilities, anti union laws, unregulated pollution, stagnant wages and the rich getting richer. theres a reason its called the businessmans party.
from an outside pov it looks like there is no center right or center left party that cares about both civil rights and working/middle class economic interests. the only "reasonable" option is the radical left. if someone lives in germany and thinks im wrong please correct me.
It is not a rumour, it is a plain public fact. Amthor's shady connection to Augustus Intelligence was revealed by a request using this law.
https://fragdenstaat.de/artikel/exklusiv/2025/03/union-will-... (In German)
Also, there was big scandal from then health minister of Germany [2] and the information came out through various media out lets. I can imagine the politicians wants to prevent that happening in the future as well, so the corruption would go undetected (this is just my opinion)
[1]- https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-blackout-how-dangerous-are-left... [2] - https://www.dw.com/en/covid-19-german-govt-suffers-defeat-in...
FoIA requests humiliated half of the chancellor’s cabinet this year, including the chancellor himself.
The agricultural minister (CSU)(CDUs sister party) was especially proud of his nickname "the black butcher".
Someone sent a request inquiring about the hygiene protocols of his butchers shop via FoIA and he rather closed shop to deny access to the protocols than hand them out. This is now in front of a court and the media made fun of him for being the black butcher without a butchery.
Digital Minister (CDU) went on TV and proudly announced no more fax machines in his ministry.
Someone sent his undersecretary a fax the same day with the title "Jäger des verlorenen Faxes" which translates into "hunter of the lost fax" and is a Hommage to the German Indiana Jones raiders of the last ark movie title.
Two weeks later the minister sat in an interview and said he needed to correct himself. If he sees another fax machine in his ministry it’s going to get thrown out.
There was a huge conference that is run annually by a company the culture minister (CDU) is controlling that allowed access to major German political figures including private talks, including the minister of economy (CDU), for a fixed price.
It was only uncovered by a FoIA request. It was so bad the Bavarian prime minister had to pull any funding and recommendations to the conference and had to stay away from it after going there for years.
Just this week the mayor of Berlin (CDU) had to give up his spot as top candidate in the upcoming mayoral race because he lied to the press and even lied repeatedly about phoning with the chancellor during the major attack on the energy infrastructure in Berlin by allegedly left-wing extremists.
A FoIA request busted the lying mayor as well as the lying chancellor, whose ministry couldn’t provide any proof they telephoned at all at the time they both said they had phoned, when a court asked them to deliver proof to the court.
This is only on the federal level, in a single year.
IFG/FoIA busted tons of lying and cheating local politicians over the years. Of course, the party that is involved in most of the heavy cases does want this law to die or be completely ineffective.
It’s very annoying for the chancellor that normal people have the right to inform themselves by whom and how decisions were made as soon as public money is involved.
But he’s also calling every German citizen lazy and cheating with sick days, etc., so I’d say the German people have a huge reason to distrust this cabinet and use the IFG/FoIA as the small man’s nuclear bomb, and the cabinet really doesn’t like that the peasants can fight back with the most annoying weapon in their arsenal, counter-bureaucracy.
I hope the Parliament doesn't buy the story about protecting critical infrastructure.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11943570/doug-ford-cellphone-free...
The previous president was burning tens of million of Euros on renting private jets on the taxpayer's dime for trips that weren't related to his duties, and when reporters wanted to investigate this misuse, the government came forward and called the president's travel history (and expenses) a national security topic and remove it from the freedom of information.
Isn't it convenient how you can just cover corruption under the rug by invoking national security? I'm surprised it hasn't been used more often.
These organisation fights for a direct democratic veto right so any change change can be fought against with enough signs. Please support (and people from other countries feel inspired)
They are really way stronger in admitting their country crimes the other countries I know about who generally like to pretend none of that ugly stuff was happening.
Industry and trade associations aren't happy either, which raises the question who asks for this? Life is getting forcefully precarious for a lot of people: Reduction of labor rights; stigmatization of unemployment, down to calls for forced labor; inflation; heavy increase in taxes; unaffordable housing... Mind you, none of that is economically necessary (e.g. we could prosecute tax evasion and tax the rich to begin with). All while transparency and democratic institutions are needlessly eroded.
And then there is the real threat of a next AfD (fascists oligarchy party) government looming above all. It's like CDU/SPD are preparing for a authoritarian take-over. Incidentally, there are documented connections between CDU leaders and foreign think tanks like The Heritage Foundation. Not to mention the constant endorsement and promotion of the AfD by Musk and Vance.
It's fucking wild and scary. I honestly fear, Germany is past the point of no return. I think we got moderately lucky Trump decided to outdo himself with Iran, and then the recent record heat wave, which felt downright apocalyptic. The theoretical negative consequences of some policies became immediately very tangible and undeniable. But I am not sure that's enough to shake up people. The opposition is somewhat complicit by not stepping up and presenting a vision towards democracy, equality and reason.
I would also reject the notion China "happened" to Germany, or energy costs were rising due to moral panics regarding nuclear power.
Germany once was leader in renewable energy tech, both solar and wind. Corruption and lobby driven politics intentionally abandoned that edge and caused an inefficient energy market, which is a main factor in energy costs. Of course our exceptionally productive and capable Mittelstand is not considered "German industry", only a few old-money corporations are. Your are saying the decline happened over 30 years, but the last nuclear power plat was only shut down 2023. And Germany's naive dependence on Russian gas was one of the main causal factors for the Ukraine war and all the expenses it caused. There absolutely was a cheaper, sustainable path intentionally not taken.
The same is true for our industry. It's corruption/lobbyism, arrogance and inaction, in face of slowly emerging Chinese "competition", which caused the downfall. It's not like politics/industry tried their best and failed. They tried nothing. On the contrary, they enforced the status quo over innovation and now when their power play failed they got nothing to offer. The reason BMW isn't the leader in electric cars is because at some point management decided to scrape the successful program, because "muh ICE so technology!". VW never even tried, but rather went all-in on lobbying to future-proof their business. Let's raise taxes for the bail-out.
And then of course the establishment owned media helped too, preventing necessary adaptations: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221462962...
Corruption, arrogance and inaction caused the German downfall.
Probably the 5000 ultra-rich who own 27% of Germanys wealth. CDU/CSU and even AfD is great news for them.
https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/05/27/5000-ultra-rich...
I guess we all can safely conclude that all governments of the word (world's government? shoot that tinfoilhat), at least those who have any meaningful means of destruction at hand, are the worst not only in our, but also our parents' lifetimes (assuming the mean age of HN commenters as 30-40).
TL;DR: The fascism is back.
Look, Thiel is gay, Weidel is gay, Spahn is gay and they all push anti-LGBT policies globally. They are cynic, self-absorbed, "got mine" psychopaths. They don't feel better because they are white or German, but because they got power, influence and wealth. I almost wish they were nationalists or had an honest concern for any share of the general population. Their politics wouldn't be as destructive. Instead they are building bunkers.
Some make the argument, capitalism needed democracy facing the soviet authoritarian system enemy of the past, but now this freedom and participation has become a weakness in current corporate geopolitics. China has shown, you can have "the best" of both worlds. I personally think, it's just the logical consequence of wealth centralization and inequality we allowed to happen.
The question is ultimately, what kind of culture makes a people, really. Do they deeply identify as free citizens or serfs? For example, the Russians never had a bottom up revolution or systemic change, I don't expect them to rise up no matter the suck. The US is difficult to judge, because of the racial divide and red scare brainwashing era preventing post-war revolutionary tradition found across Europe. They are still very influenced by dogma and repressed emotions. Things are pretty bad and they haven't done shit, so I am afraid they will bow to the suck.
Here in Germany, I don't know. People, grew up learning there is a time for just violence. Looking at past gigantic anti-AfD demonstrations, I am hopeful, if it has to be done, it will get done. I hope there is a large enough share of the population which will make any fundamental power change unsustainable. Right now, people are in shock and still cling to their old realities, but something is brewing already. The generational injustice helps. Then again, large parts of the population are evidently fucking idiots and senile got-mines.
I don't deny the problem the country is facing but your doom is multiplied by social media.
Touch some grass, maybe pay for traditional media and you get a view of the trade offs the government is facing. It doesnt mean you have to agree with the choice but you know...
" Industry and trade associations aren't happy either, which raises the question who asks for this? " A comprise is good if everyone involved is unhappy.
" As a German citizen let me tell you, the rate of decline this country is in is truly shocking. " Just let you know. Most AfD members share your sentiment. Maybe you should qquestion this feeling.
No political bullshit will help with objective reality, being it rightoids who promise "optimizing" social spendings(while leaching on corruption) or leftoids who want to tax the rich(which will just drive factories and businesses to Poland/China/etc).
Should a random US citizen be able to ask a random Germany government official for data? Why?
It sounds like the organizations thing might just be to stop foreign nationals using that as a workaround.
Of course it's also all just speculation without any real laws written yet, but the direction is there.
Countries that don’t usually rationalize: government is answerable primary to those it governs and taxes, limit flood of requests, some laws only extend rights to citizens of countries that offer similar rights back, worry that other governments could use it as low cost intelligence gathering, harder to charge or pursue fees.
Yea, I don't give a shit wether only citizen should be able to request data.
Like GDPR, the existence of FoI laws give government agencies a reason to develop systems to quickly and effortlessly give people the access they're entitled to. Given the existence of such systems (analogous to the "data takeout" systems businesses must have for PII), giving access to foreigners as well should be unproblematic. It's supposed to be public information in the first place, roadblocks have no place.
There is obviously a very good reason for transparency but I think the full extent of FOI is basically like asking if someone is wearing trousers on a call