2024-12-17
7 分钟Plus, a school shooting in Wisconsin.
From. The new York Times, it's the Headlines.
I'm Tracy Mumford.
Today's Tuesday, December 17th.
Here's what we're covering.
In Europe, a crisis of leadership is spreading.
Yesterday, the German government collapsed after the country's chancellor, Olaf Scholz, lost a confidence vote.
The country will now hold a snap election months earlier than voting was planned.
The turmoil in Germany comes as France has also been flailing.
Its prime minister resigned after a vote of no confidence in the government there just weeks ago.
France is now on its fourth prime minister this year.
A record level of turnover and across Europe,
growing polarization has made it exceptionally difficult to build political coalitions,
and the rise of far right parties has scrambled the balance of power.
Germany and France are also facing a complex array of hot button issues,
with fierce debates over how to fix their struggling economies, immigration policy and national defense.
In Germany in particular,
one of the most divisive questions heading into the elections will be how much to continue supporting Ukraine,
with some politicians calling for more military aid,
while others are warning that aggressive support could provoke Russia,
which has been ramping up its threats against Europe.