On 24 January 2012, the Bundestag set up a committee of inquiry into the crimes of the right-wing terrorist group NSU. All parliamentary groups had asked for it. After 16 months the committee presented its final report on 22 August 2013. It had 1,357 pages. Across party lines, the committee adopted 47 recommendations for the police, the justice system and the domestic intelligence service. On 28 February 2014, the federal government reported to the Bundestag on the state of implementation of the recommendations.
Maneuver Critique
die Manöverkritik — the critique after a maneuver. Duden: a critical discussion of the experiences and results after a military exercise. Duden also gives the figurative use: nach der Premiere gab es eine Manöverkritik, after the premiere there was a maneuver critique. The dictionary DWDS adds a wider sense: a critical analysis of the results of an economic or political measure, or of a sports competition.
Two Months for the Analysis
Germany went out of the 2018 World Cup in the group stage. The last group match was on 27 June 2018. The national coach, Joachim Löw, withdrew from public view. About two months after the exit, on 29 August 2018, he presented his analysis. He named two main mistakes, among them his reliance on possession football. Das war fast schon arrogant von mir. That was almost arrogant of me. In 2024 Löw said that not stepping down after 2018 had been a mistake: Das war sicherlich ein Fehler.
Eight Days for 414 Objections
In the approval procedure for Tesla’s factory in Grünheide, near Berlin, 414 people and associations filed objections. The public hearing on them began on 23 September 2020 in the civic hall of Erkner. On the first day it did not get beyond questions of procedure. Three days had been planned. The hearing went on for eight days. Even so, critics said that it was ended too early, under pressure from the state environment ministry, and that not everyone had been heard.
Courage to Leave a Gap
Mut zur Lücke — courage to leave a gap. Students say it before an exam, when they decide not to learn everything. At work it means accepting an incomplete solution on purpose.
die Goldrandlösung — the gold-rimmed solution. It is a critical word for a solution made perfect at any cost. It is often used in the debate about slow equipment purchases for the Bundeswehr.
The first phrase asks for courage, which shows that completeness is the normal expectation.
Not Yet Ripe
entscheidungsreif — ripe for decision. Duden lists it as an example of the suffix -reif, for something developed far enough to qualify for something.
beschlussreif — ripe for a resolution.
kabinettsreif — ready for the cabinet.
Das ist noch nicht spruchreif. — That is not yet ripe for announcement.
nicht ausgereift — not fully ripened, said of a proposal that has not been thought through.
Wir haben noch Beratungsbedarf. — We still need to discuss this. The sentence stops a decision.
Der Teufel steckt im Detail. — The devil is in the detail.
The Pause Before the First Cut
Germany’s Patient Safety Alliance recommends a Team-Time-Out before every operation or other invasive procedure. It takes place immediately before the skin incision. A designated moderator leads the whole team through a checklist. The surgeon names the procedure and the site and side of the body. The cut may be made only when every point on the checklist has been completed. All members of the team count as equals, and each is called on to speak up as soon as he or she notices an error.
A Hundred Pages Before the Judges Meet
At the Federal Constitutional Court, one judge prepares each case as rapporteur. He or she writes a Votum, a draft decision with the supporting material, and sends it to the other judges before they deliberate. A judge told the political scientist Uwe Kranenpohl: mehr als hundert Seiten ist durchaus normal, more than a hundred pages is quite normal. When the judges have reached their decision, they meet again to read the draft judgment. Kranenpohl writes: So ist mitunter die Leseberatung intensiver und länger als die eigentliche Entscheidungsberatung. The reading session is sometimes more intensive and longer than the deliberation on the decision itself.
Eleven Hours Was Fast
Before the Bundestag votes on the federal budget, its budget committee holds a final session, the Bereinigungssitzung, literally the clean-up session. In der Sitzung wird jeder Einzelplan erneut aufgerufen. In it, every section of the budget is called up again, as a rule with the minister present. The Bundestag’s news service says the session usually lasts into the early hours of the next morning. On 4 September 2025, the session for the 2025 budget ended after eleven hours. Budget politicians called it the shortest they could remember, and the news headline was Bundesetat-Sitzung in Rekordzeit, budget session in record time.
Intended Effects and Unintended Side Effects
The explanatory memorandum of every federal bill must state its consequences. The joint rules of procedure of the federal ministries define them in one sentence. Sie umfassen die beabsichtigten Wirkungen und die unbeabsichtigten Nebenwirkungen. They include the intended effects and the unintended side effects. The memorandum must also say whether other solutions exist.