With the ink barely dry on yesterday’s Cyprus rescue deal, Germany is braced for another bad-tempered bailout battle – this time at home. Two of Germany’s wealthiest states, Bavaria and Hesse, have filed a lawsuit at the constitutional court saying they are being penalised by a decades-old obligation to subsidise poorer states. Their Karlsruhe complaint is part of a long-simmering Read more [...]

Crackling Roasted Pork Knuckle with Sauerkraut and Pretzel Dumplings. [Photo: Marie Bollrich] By Rob Hemsley There's nothing worse for me, as a proud Englishman, than going to a British-style restaurant abroad and tucking into food that would make the worst cook in my country blush. Any Beijing resident interested in sampling genuine Bavarian cuisine should therefore be pleased to know that the Paulaner Brauhaus is not just popular with locals, but also with German natives keen to enjoy a real taste Read more [...]

Crackling Roasted Pork Knuckle with Sauerkraut and Pretzel Dumplings. [Photo: Marie Bollrich] By Rob Hemsley There's nothing worse for me, as a proud Englishman, than going to a British-style restaurant abroad and tucking into food that would make the worst cook in my country blush. Any Beijing resident interested in sampling genuine Bavarian cuisine should therefore be pleased to know that the Paulaner Brauhaus is not just popular with locals, but also with German natives keen to enjoy a real taste Read more [...]

Under the present arrangement, money is redistributed to needier state governments from those with higher tax income bases. The post-Second World War system was intended to equalise the country and was a founding principal of fairness after the years of Nazi tyranny.Yet some of Germany’s richer states feel the system has become a lavish gesture of solidarity they can no longer afford. Hessen and Bavaria have now gone to the Constitutional Court seeking to have the practice overturned. Read more [...]