Alemanha, Deutsche Welle, Alemão

The average, publicly-insured German patient in 2024 waited, on average, 42 days to see a specialist doctor, the Rheinische Post newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing official figures obtained in response to a parliamentary query submitted by the opposition Left Party.

Five years earlier, in 2019, the average waiting time between seeing a general practitioner and referral to a specialist was 33 days.

At the same time, expenditure by Germany‘s statutory health insurers (Krankenkassen) has increased, with extra funding for doctors’ consultation periods increasing from around €291 million in 2020 to around €814 million in 2023. This is a result of some clinics being obliged to offer at least five hours of open consultation without appointment per week, according to the German Health Ministry.

“The regulations for better treatment and faster appointments are a non-starter,” said a spokeswoman for the opposition Left Party, criticizing the government’s health policy and calling on the conservative-led ruling coalition to “finally take action” and analyze how medical treatment in Germany is “actually developing.

A train conductor has died after being attacked by a passenger during a routine ticket inspection on a train near the southwestern German city of Kaiserslautern.

Germany’s railway and transport union has called for greater security for staff as violence and abuse increases.

Read the full story here.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz embarked on a three-day trip to the Gulf region on Wednesday, where he is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The trip comes on the back of visits to Africa and Latin America at the end of last year and after a trip to India in January (see video), as Merz looks to strengthen Germany‘s partnerships with counties outside the European Union and NATO.

“We want to intensify our relationships with countries who want to work with us and who have comparable perceptions of rules-based international trade,” said a government spokesman.

Topics on the agenda in the Gulf are expected to include oil and gas supplies, arms exports and geopolitical diplomacy, including the ongoing conflicts and crises in the Palestinian territories, Iran and Ukraine.

Since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE have become key players in global trade and foreign affairs. Indeed, the latest round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the United States, are set to take place in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital, on Wednesday and Thursday, before Merz’s arrival there on Friday.

Neither Germany (nor any European countries) are involved in those talks, but all three Gulf countries are key export markets for the German arms industry, while Qatar is an important interlocutor for Berlin when it comes to the repatriation of Afghans to Afghanistan.

Guten Morgen! Welcome to DW’s coverage of what Germany is talking about on Wednesday, February 4.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is setting off on a three-day trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates where he is looking to strengthen partnerships beyond the European Union.

Back in Germany, airline Lufthansa has announced fresh research into its Nazi past as it celebrates its 100th anniversary.