First not past the post: Germany’s chancellor shocker

<p>In a post-war first, Germany’s round of parliamentary voting for a chancellor did not produce one. We ask why members of <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/05/01/germanys-staid-seeming-new-chancellor-has-a-mercurial-streak?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Friedrich Merz</a>’s coalition turned on him, and what happens next. Daring raids on scam compounds in Myanmar freed many <a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/02/06/online-scams-may-already-be-as-big-a-scourge-as-illegal-drugs?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slave-labour scammers</a>—but thousands remain trapped there (9:42). And diving into the data that show young Americans are getting (slightly) <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/03/11/young-americans-are-getting-happier?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">happier</a> (16:23).</p><br><p><em>Economist Education is running a new six-week online course on international relations—a window into shifting geopolitical trends and a guide to navigating uncertainty and risk. Listeners to “The Intelligence” can save 15% by clicking </em><a href="https://education.economist.com/intelligence" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>here</em></a><em> and using the code INTELLIGENCE.</em></p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>