Let a little schadenfreude perk you up.
The week's news at a glance.
Germany
Editorial
Der Tagesspiegel
There’s an easy new way for gloomy Germans to feel better, said Berlin’s Der Tagesspiegel in an editorial. Compare yourselves to the French. Sure, the German economy is in the dumps, and our national mood is sour. But the French are even worse off! Not only is their economy more “sclerotic” than ours, but they are constitutionally incapable of fixing it. Their “communist-minded workforce” goes on strike to block every attempt at reform. And in foreign affairs these days, France is the biggest loser in Europe. The U.S. is much angrier at France than at Germany for opposition to the Iraq war—remember Condi Rice’s dictum to “ignore Germany” and “forgive Russia” but “punish France.” Europe isn’t feeling much friendlier because the French will go down in history “as the ones who dug the European Union’s grave” by refusing to ratify the E.U. constitution. As one German philosopher used to say, “the problem with Germans is their penchant for self-pity.” These days, we can save our pity for our pathetic neighbors.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Home Depots are the new epicenters of ICE raids
In the Spotlight The chain has not provided many comments on the ongoing raids
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?
Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
The pros and cons of banning cellphones in classrooms
Pros and cons The devices could be major distractions