Podcast

On 29 October 2025, the Netherlands went to the polls in a much-anticipated election that could reshape the country’s political landscape – and its role in Europe. After two years of a populist government, the centrist liberal party D66, led by Rob Jetten, emerged as the winner. Meanwhile, the GroenLinks–PvdA alliance fell short of expectations, raising new questions about the future of the Dutch centre-left – and about what comes next in coalition talks. So – what happened, what’s next, and why should Brussels care? In this new Böll·Europe Podcast episode, host Joan Lanfranco upacks with Noortje Thijssen (Director of the Scientific Bureau GroenLinks, the political foundation of the Dutch green party) the election results, the prospects for coalition-building, and what this means for the Netherlands’ direction – both at home and in Europe.

Czechia voted for change – but what kind? Andrej Babiš makes a comeback, the Greens return to parliament, and populism takes a new shape. Adéla Jurečková, Director of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Prague office, breaks down the results and what they mean for Czech democracy and the EU.

Karol Nawrocki of the Law and Justice party (PiS) narrowly won Poland’s presidential run-off—dealing a serious blow to Donald Tusk’s pro-European coalition government. What does this mean for Polish politics, the EU, and the balance of power in Warsaw? In this Böll·Europe Podcast episode we focus on the run-off of the presidential election in Poland, which took place on Sunday 1 June 2025. Our guest is Maciej Makulski, Head of Europe and International Politics at the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's Warsaw office.

In this Böll·Europe Podcast episode we focus on the snap federal elections in Germany, which took place on Sunday 23 February 2025. Our guest is Dietrich Herrmann, since 2024 Head of the Government, Administration and Political Parties Division at the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's headquarters in Berlin. Dietrich holds a PhD in modern history from the Free University of Berlin. From 1994 to 2013 he worked in political science research at Dresden University. He worked at the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group in the Saxon State Parliament from 2015 to 2020. From 2020 to 2022, he established the new Department of Citizen Participation in the Saxon State Ministry of Justice and for Democracy, Europe and Equality.

In this Böll·Europe Podcast episode we focus on parliamentary elections in Kosovo, which took place on Sunday 9 February 2025. Our guest is Granit Gashi, Kosovo Contact Point at the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's Belgrade office. Granit is an environmentalist and sustainability pioneer in Kosovo, and has previously worked for civil society organisations such as GAIA Kosovo, BirdLife Serbia. He’s also the co-founder of the Foundation for Animal Rights in Kosovo.

The European Parliament elections might be over, but that doesn’t mean that the constellation of power in the EU is all set in stone. In this episode, we’re looking at what the European election result means for the EU and the future of the Green Deal, how the Greens in the European Parliament are doing, what their priorities are and whether the Greens just might be a new power broker that’s necessary for the conservatives, social democrats and liberals to hold a stable majority. Roderick Kefferpütz, Director of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's EU office, discusses this with Bas Eickhout, long-standing Member of the European Parliament from the Dutch Greens, and Co-Chair of the Greens/EFA Group.