Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.
When Richard III's skeleton was found under a parking lot in England in 2012, it was an exciting enough discovery for the general public, but a game-changer for Yvonne Morley-Chisholm.
The parliamentary election will decide the next government, and will show whether Ireland bucks the global trend of incumbents being ousted by disgruntled voters.