Parecía que el enfado de los berlineses, recién recuperados de un apagón que dejó varios días a unas 100.000 personas a oscuras durante una ola de frío polar, no podía ir a más. Hasta que se ha conocido que su alcalde, el democristiano Kai Wegner, se fue a jugar al tenis durante lo peor de la emergencia. Ocurrió el sábado, horas después de que una organización de izquierdas llamada Vulkangruppe saboteara las redes eléctricas de varios barrios del suroeste de la capital y dejara al descubierto la vulnerabilidad de las infraestructuras críticas en Alemania. Pero no se supo hasta este miércoles, cuando la televisión pública de Berlín denunció que el alcalde no había estado ocupado al 100% con la gestión de la crisis, como repetía constantemente su equipo.

El regidor, que recuperó para los conservadores la capital tras 22 años de dominio socialdemócrata en 2023, ha hecho oídos sordos a las críticas y a las peticiones de dimisión que han empezado a lloverle desde la exclusiva. Asegura que no tiene por qué pedir perdón porque la emergencia se gestionó adecuadamente. “No hay motivo para disculparse cuando se pone fin a una crisis un día y medio antes de lo previsto. Quiero reiterar: la gestión de la crisis funcionó”, ha dicho este jueves a preguntas de los periodistas tras un acto en Berlín.

Inicialmente el Ayuntamiento había asegurado que la red no podría restablecerse hasta este jueves porque las reparaciones eran complicadas. La perspectiva de que 45.000 hogares pasaran seis días sin electricidad, conexión de internet y móvil y calefacción durante la mayor nevada del año y con temperaturas bajo cero enfureció a la opinión pública. No se entendía cómo podían estar así de desprotegidas unas instalaciones vitales críticas ni por qué se necesitaban tantos días para recuperar el servicio. Finalmente, el suministro llegó antes de lo previsto: a una parte de los afectados el martes y a otra el miércoles.

Durante estos días el Ayuntamiento habilitó pabellones deportivos con literas para que la población que no tenía otro recurso pudiera resguardarse durante el temporal. Una mujer de 83 años fue hallada sin vida en su casa y se está investigando si el fallecimiento tuvo que ver con el apagón. Cinco hospitales se quedaron sin corriente varias horas. Dos decenas de escuelas tuvieron que cerrar.

Las autoridades dan credibilidad a la autoría de Vulkangruppe, un grupo con un historial de ataques parecidos que se atribuyó el sabotaje a las pocas horas de producirse. La organización asegura luchar por el medio ambiente atacando infraestructuras de combustibles fósiles. La causa del apagón es, según la investigación, un incendio en unos cables cerca de la central eléctrica del distrito de Lichterfelde. En el texto en el que reivindica el ataque el grupo reconoce haber causado el incendio.

“Durante una de las mayores crisis de su mandato, Kai Wegner prefirió jugar al tenis a estar cerca de sus ciudadanos, y mintió al respecto. Alguien así no puede dirigir Berlín”, asegura un artículo de opinión este jueves en el influyente semanario Der Spiegel. El alcalde Wegner no se disculpa, pero sí ha querido explicarse. Asegura que el partido duró apenas una hora y que el resto del tiempo estuvo permanentemente conectado. “Para mí era importante hacer una hora de deporte ese día. Necesitaba desconectar. Necesitaba relajarme. Necesitaba ordenar mis pensamientos”, ha dicho a los periodistas.

Mientras, los investigadores siguen tan a oscuras como estuvieron los barrios berlineses durante el apagón. Según los medios alemanes, no han encontrado más pistas sobre los autores materiales que unas pisadas sobre la nieve. El apagón más largo de la historia de Berlín desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial deja preguntas en el aire sobre la protección de las infraestructuras críticas en un contexto de amenaza por la guerra híbrida de Rusia, desconfianza hacia los servicios públicos y a un alcalde en la cuerda floja.

The Trump administration is making it increasingly difficult to work in the United States, leading many highly qualified researchers and professionals to seek opportunities in other markets abroad. Germany wants to capitalize on this unusual brain drain to address its long-standing shortage of skilled labor, a problem experts predict will worsen in the coming years due to demographic shifts.

“We want to facilitate immigration into the labor market and ensure that we attract the world’s best researchers, developers, and specialists to Germany,” declared German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at an annual metalworking industry event held in mid-December in Berlin. To this end, the conservative leader explained that they are working to make the country attractive to “skilled workers, scientists, and researchers who want to come to Germany.”

“Many Americans are contacting us to say they would like to come to Europe or Germany because of the current climate in the United States. Let’s seize these opportunities together. We will create the necessary conditions to make it possible,” he stated.

Business leaders have long warned the new coalition government of conservatives and social democrats about the difficulties in finding workers and the implications this has for the German economy. According to a study by the German Economic Institute (IW), which is closely aligned with business leaders, there was a shortage of nearly 150,000 skilled workers in STEM fields in October. The study’s authors warn that, despite the economic recession in Germany, the shortage remains high and jeopardizes important future projects in areas such as digitalization, climate protection, infrastructure and defense—sectors where the German government plans to invest billions in the coming years.

But while Germany is desperately seeking highly qualified professionals, in the United States, the Trump administration is cutting billions of dollars from scientific institutes and universities, restricting what can be studied, deporting immigrants, and limiting visas for skilled workers. Until now, the United States was a magnet for the world’s best researchers, scientists, and academics. Big budgets, high salaries and cutting-edge equipment made it nearly impossible for other countries to compete for them. “A historic opportunity is opening up for Germany: at a time when other countries are building walls, our country can open doors and thus benefit not only its science, but also its economy and society in the long term,” explained IW economist Michael Hüther last summer.

For decades, the U.S. has been considered a destination for emigration, including for Germans, who saw great job opportunities there. However, this trend appears to have come to an end. According to the German Federal Statistical Office, from January to September, more people emigrated from the U.S. to Germany than vice versa, for the first time since 2021. Specifically, 19,300 people arrived in the European country from the U.S. This represents a 3.4% increase compared to the same period last year. This figure includes both tourists and people who came to study or work in Germany. U.S. citizens can enter Germany without a visa and then apply for a residence permit on-site, as the Interior Ministry points out.

“The number of residence permits granted to U.S. citizens in the country (first-time grants after entry) increased by 32% in the comparative period from January to September between 2024 and 2025. This includes the following reasons for residence: work activity (including researchers), vocational training, studies, recognition measures and job search (opportunity card),” a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior explained to EL PAÍS.

“Many American colleagues feel insecure and, in some ways, intimidated,” the president of the Max Planck Society (MPG), Patrick Cramer, told the radio station Deutschlandfunk a few months ago. Cramer stated at the time that he expected an influx of American researchers to Germany. “Some have already contacted the MPG. The MPG then tries to make them offers, on the condition that they are ‘leading figures in the field of research.’” Universities are also noticing an increase in applications. According to the newspaper Die Welt, the prestigious Technical University of Munich (TUM) is receiving more applications than usual from the United States. The Global Visiting Professor Program, a program offering stays of up to three months for visiting professors from abroad at TUM, has also seen a considerable increase in applications, including from the United States.

But attracting top talent isn’t something that can be done with the snap of a finger. It requires specific investments and policies, such as an ambitious scholarship program for international talent, as those in the scientific community point out. Last July, the German government launched the “1,000 More Heads” program, known in English as the Global Minds Initiative Germany, which aims to offer “attractive career prospects in Germany.” It targets researchers from around the world and across all disciplines at various stages of their careers, starting from their PhD studies, and funds both short-term and long-term research stays. Since its inception, funding has been awarded to 166 researchers from 25 countries, 26 of whom are from the United States.

“We want to invest more than €600 million ($701 million) in this program. More than any other country in Europe. This represents a huge boost for the much-needed skilled workforce and for cutting-edge research in Germany,” declared German Minister for Research, Technology and Astronautics Dorothee Bär in mid-December, welcoming some of the first beneficiaries, including Johannes Stein, who recently conducted research at Harvard University in the field of bioengineering and will now lead a research group at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin.

Sources in Germany indicate that the goal is to attract people not only from the United States, but also from other parts of the world, such as India, South America and Canada, who in the past would have chosen the United States but now face difficulties entering the country or are uncertain about their long-term viability. Some regions of Germany, like the state of Baden-Württemberg—known for its thriving business network with numerous leading companies in their respective sectors—want to capitalize on the situation to become a “magnet for cutting-edge international research,” as its president, Winfried Kretschmann, announced.

STEM workers are known for being more mobile than other professionals, which fosters fierce international competition. “Programming languages and scientific principles are identical worldwide, so skills can be more easily applied in other countries,” explains Axel Plünnecke, a STEM expert at the IW economics institute. However, in his view, while Germany continues to enjoy a strong reputation as a technological nation and many international students pursue STEM studies there, the major challenge is retaining them afterward. “Germany needs robust support programs at universities for language learning, academic success, and job searching to further attract international students to stay in Germany,” Plünnecke adds.

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Luisa Neubauer (Hamburg, 29 years old), the public face of Fridays for Future in Germany — the youth movement born out of the school strikes against the climate crisis — was nicknamed “the German Greta Thunberg” for years. “At first, it helped people understand what I was doing. Now I’m a bit tired of the comparison. We’re very different,” she says in a café on the street where she lives in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district. Aware of the decline of environmental issues on the political agenda, Neubauer has just launched a new phase of mobilization, with street protests and more impactful projects. In a few days, she will travel to Antarctica with a scientific team. From there, she will connect with schools so that children can see the melting ice in real time. The mission: to transform a distant phenomenon into undeniable evidence, capable of shaking consciences more than any report full of statistics.

Question. December in Berlin and it’s 13°C, about 10 degrees warmer than usual. Is this the new normal?

Answer. I only see new states of abnormality. We’ve become accustomed to conditions that were once unusual, and we don’t even notice them anymore. It’s very serious, although we shouldn’t feel guilty for not freezing to death in December. That’s not the battle.

Q. Unlike other activists, you don’t view climate action as asceticism.

A. For me, ecology shouldn’t be a punitive force, but a joyful and liberating one. I’ve never understood my activism as a punishment, but as a way to reconcile myself with what I see and feel. It’s a matter of respect for the planet and those who live and will live on it, not a penance…

Q. Even so, your detractors call you a moralist, an extremist, or even a fundamentalist. Does that bother you?

A. It makes me smile that there are people who could dedicate their energy to something positive and instead choose to invest it in insulting young women who are concerned about the state of the planet. What I find less amusing is that the hatred and violence are real: I’ve needed security at protests for years. Even so, I try not to take it personally. It’s more a symptom of the fear of change, the erosion of patriarchy, and the social tensions affecting our continent.

Q. Why has the climate fallen onto the back burner on the political agenda?

A. Actually, it’s not even in the background: it’s been pushed much further back. When supposedly urgent issues like migration, the economy, or security arise, climate is always the first thing to be sidelined. It’s a convenient solution in the short term, but disconnected from reality: without a stable planet, no other political project can be sustained in the long run.

It makes me smile that there are people who could dedicate their energy to something positive and instead choose to invest it in insulting young women who are concerned about the state of the planet

Q. Why do you think Fridays for Future has lost momentum after electrifying all of Europe in the years leading up to the pandemic?

A. We created a wave that changed the conversation and made people start taking the climate seriously, because it was young people who were demanding it. But a pandemic, the return of war in Europe, or a major economic crisis can wear down any momentum. I always knew that wave wouldn’t last forever. We have to find other ways to keep it going.

Q. For example, large street protests have been revived across Germany.

A. We never stopped protesting: we’ve been doing it for seven years. The difference is that now we want to be much more concrete: instead of demanding that governments do more in the abstract, we point to specific projects, like a new gas pipeline, and take the protest to where the decisions are made. This localized pressure is producing results.

Q. Climate crisis skeptics no longer deny that there is a problem, but they attack solutions in the name of social inequality: the poorest cannot afford a hybrid vehicle.

A. We have gone through several phases: first they denied the crisis, then its severity, and now they deny the proposed solutions. It was said that phasing out coal would leave us without electricity, that wind power would ruin our landscapes, even that heat pumps would move us away from fire, supposedly the essence of human civilization. Today, what is denied is that all of this is a priority: the problem is acknowledged, but postponed indefinitely. This is a mistake.

Q. They say that climate measures are unfair to the less fortunate. Do you admit that some are?

A. It’s an excuse. The Paris Agreement established that those who pollute the most and have the greatest capacity to act must do more. It’s not up to the movement to demand that a struggling single mother buy organic lentils, but governments must fulfill their commitments. And they must do so with fair policies, not with subsidies that end up benefiting the wealthiest, as sometimes happens.

Q. Why are scientific data not enough to change mindsets?

A. Because feelings outweigh facts. Science is the foundation, but a graph or a figure will never move anyone on its own. Always guided by science, we must also consider what emotions we want to evoke. Only then will people be mobilized. The worst thing is believing that nothing can be done. Everyone can do something, even if they don’t see the immediate effect. My daily motivation is to prove it.

Science is the foundation, but a graph or a figure will never move anyone on its own. Always guided by science, we must also consider what emotions we want to evoke

Q. In 2023, your organization distanced itself from the international Fridays for Future movement following the war in Gaza. Do you still maintain that position?

A. To a large extent, things have changed. After [the Hamas-led attacks of] October 7, it was essential to express empathy with the victims and make it clear that there is no possible justification for violence. In Germany, because of how our historical memory works, if something like that was perceived as being minimized, it became impossible to continue working. That’s why we adopted that stance. Since then, we have denounced the genocide and demanded an end to arms exports to Israel, even when everyone advised against it.

Q. You have said your first inspiration was your grandmother, the activist Dagmar Reemtsma.

A. She campaigned against nuclear energy and participated in pacifist and feminist movements. When I was a child, she took me to events where men almost always spoke. She would stand up, challenge them, and dismantle their arguments with great conviction. She taught me not to simply repeat the obvious, but to point out the absurdity of opposing arguments. That always works.

Q. What was your political awakening?

A. In third grade, they wanted to close my school in Hamburg. My parents and other neighbors organized a protest and we blocked a main street. There were so many of us children that no cars could get through. In the end, they didn’t close it. I was impressed by the power of collective action.

Q. You even turned down a seat on the Siemens board. How was that offer presented to you?

A. Siemens was supplying electrical equipment to a huge coal mine in Australia. We organized a campaign, and I wrote an open letter to its CEO. His response was to offer me a seat on the supervisory board. I declined, of course, because it made no sense. The sad thing is that the media attention focused on whether or not I would accept that position, and not on the project we were denouncing…

Institutional politics, for the moment, seems like a rather uninspiring space to me. But I’m not closing that door

Q. You’ve also been criticized for flying. Can you defend the planet and still take a plane?

A. I no longer fly within Europe, and I only fly abroad in exceptional cases, for example, for climate conferences. But there’s a catch there: this demand for individual purity as a condition for having the right to speak. Not being pure doesn’t make you any less legitimate. It’s a very effective way to discredit and demobilize us.

Q. You were ridiculed for attending the Berlinale with an anti-far-right slogan printed on your dress. Do you regret it?

A. No, it was one of the most effective actions of the year. In January, for the first time since World War II, the German government sought the support of the far right for a parliamentary vote. The dress was a way of visually denouncing this broken taboo. Sometimes, an image achieves much more than a speech full of parliamentary jargon.

Q. You are a member of the German Greens and tipped to have a great political future. Do you see yourself as a minister or even as a second female chancellor?

A. Institutional politics, for the moment, seems like a rather uninspiring space to me. But I’m not closing that door: I’ll be 30 in a few months, and like any other young person, I wonder where life will take me. Even so, I’ve seen how the power of the people in the streets can be greater than that of any parliament. As long as I feel I can be of use there, I’ll keep fighting in that trench.

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