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Inside Germany's big UN defeat

36:00

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June 5, 2026

Germany just suffered one of its biggest diplomatic setbacks in decades: losing a UN Security Council seat it thought was practically guaranteed. In this episode of Berlin Briefing, host Nina Haase and her guests, DW's Max Hofmann and UN expert Myriel Marthez, take you inside the vote, inside the backroom diplomacy, and inside the reasons Germany’s campaign collapsed.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:33 The vote

04:02 Secret ballot

06:12 Five key reasons for Germany’s loss

08:30 Structural timing problem

11:05 Russia’s role

13:35 Israel policy

14:45 Johann Wadephul

16:30 Missed diplomacy signals

17:45 Importance of personal diplomacy at the UN

19:30 International law criticism

23:20 Funding vs influence

25:30 Was Germany overconfident?

30:20 Lessons learned

33:30 What Germany should do next

35:30 Outro

 

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DW Berlin Briefing

From the US elections, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to evolving European security dynamics, this video podcast explores how these events impact Germany and the wider region.

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