The Inquiry

When Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister, Christian Lindner last month, Germany’s ‘traffic light’ government collapsed, an uneasy coalition between parties with differing perspectives and strained relations, the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democrats.At the heart of the political dispute lie deeply opposing views about spending plans, and how to fund much needed investment in infrastructure projects such as transport, education, green energy and digital technology, in order to boost Germany’s international competitiveness.Falling demand both domestically and overseas for manufacturing goods, the pandemic, war in Ukraine and high energy costs have weakened Germany’s economy. So how can Germany reinvigorate its exports and economic growth? On this episode of The Inquiry, we’re asking: Does Germany need to reinvent itself? Contributors Michaela Kuefner, Chief Political Editor, DW Deutsche Welle. Marcel Fratzscher, President, German Institute for Economic Research & Professor of Macroeconomics, Humboldt University. Julian Hinz, Professor of International Economics, Bielefeld University & Director, Trade Policy Research Group, Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Monika Schnitzer of Economics & Chairwoman of the German Council of Economic Experts.Presenter: Tanya Beckett Production: Diane Richardson and Matt Toulson Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey Technical Producer: Matthew Dempsey Editor: Tara McDermottImage credit - Reuters via BBC Images

The car industry across the European Union employs over thirteen million people, both directly and indirectly, that’s around six percent of the bloc’s workforce. But in recent years, Europe’s manufacturers have been struggling to cope with issues like economic downturns, clean energy requirements and the digital revolution. Some of the oldest, biggest carmakers are considering plant closures and job cuts in order to try and stay afloat. They are also facing fierce competition in the electric vehicle market from China, who have taken a lead in producing cars that are much more competitively priced and equipped with much more sophisticated technology. China’s own economy has been flagging, so the EU provides it with its largest overseas market in terms of the electric car industry. But now, in a bid to protect their own car industry, the EU has introduced tariffs on electric cars made in China. These tariffs are set to rise from ten percent up to forty five percent for the next five years. Beijing has condemned them as protectionist and there are concerns that it could spark a trade war between Brussels and Beijing. So, on this week’s Inquiry, we’re asking ‘Is Europe’s car industry at a crossroads?’ Contributors: Carsten Brzeski, Global Head of Macro Research, ING, Germany Tu Le, Founder and Managing Director, Sino Auto Insights, United States of America Beatrix Keim, Director, CAR Centre for Automotive Research, Germany Stefan Deix, Director, EUCAR, European Council for Automotive R&D, Belgium Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Matthew Dempsey Production Co-ordinator: Liam Morrey Image Credit: Westend61 via Getty Images

When protests against decades of rule by the Assad family were crushed by Syrian government forces in the spring of 2011, opposition groups took up arms and the country descended into civil war. The conflict drew in Syria’s Kurds, jihadi groups including Islamic State and al-Qaeda, and the international community.13 years on President Assad controls around two thirds of the country, but northern Syria remains out of the regime's grip and is highly volatile. Internal divisions, international influences and a worsening humanitarian situation may be about to further destabilise the region, with potentially serious consequences for Syria and the world. So, in this episode of The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘What’s the future for Syria’s divided north?’Contributors Dr Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow for Middle East Security at the Royal United Services Institute. Charles Lister, Director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism programs, Middle East Institute. Qutaiba Idlbi, Director of the Syria Initiative at the Atlantic Council. Emma Beals, Senior Advisor at the European Institute of Peace and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington.Presenter: Emily Wither Production: Diane Richardson and Matt Toulson Broadcast Co-ordinator: Ellie Dover & Liam Morrey Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Cameron WardImage credit - NurPhoto via Getty Images

Aerospace giant Boeing has had big problems to overcome since the crashes of two of its 737 Max aircraft. Its situation was compounded this year with another safety scare and a strike losing it billions of dollars. It has a new CEO who has pledged to return the company to its engineering roots and away from cost cutting and in October, Boeing managed to raise 21bn US dollars by issuing new shares in the company. However, catching up on lost production will take time and money and financially the company is nowhere near out of the weeds.Can Boeing regain the trust of regulators, airlines and passengers? Contributors: Richard Aboulafia, AeroDynamic Advisory, a US aerospace consultancy Sharon Turlep, an aviation industry reporter at the Wall Street Journal Christine Negroni, an aviation journalist specialising in safety Scott Hamilton, aviation analystPresented by David Baker. Produced by Bob Howard. Researched by Matt Toulson. Edited by Tara McDermott. Mixed by David Crackles.Image credit - Kevin Burkholder via Getty Images