Germany is spending the summer trying to temporarily ignore the situation in Ukraine. That’s likely to backfire. Rather, the German government and the rest of Europe should signal stronger, not weaker, support for Ukraine.

Scandals have only dented, but not eroded support for Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland. In September, the party could come close to political power at the regional level. The case for banning it is getting stronger.

Franco-German relations have been rocky of late, but recently, they seemed to have taken a turn for the better. If France’s parliament is now conquered by the far right or becomes deadlocked, that relationship is likely to become even more deeply fractured. 

With his second visit to Beijing to see Chinese President Xi Jinping, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz set himself up for a failure. In contrast, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, when visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky three days later, had a firmer grasp of realities.