German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met on the sidelines of G20 talks in South Africa on Saturday, after the German leader sparked outrage with comments on the Brazilian city hosting the COP30 climate talks.
Sources close to the chancellor described Saturday’s meeting, which focused on the UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil, tropical rainforest protection and the war in Ukraine, as “very harmonious,” though it was unclear whether Merz’s controversial comments were discussed.
Merz had travelled to the Amazon city of Belém for a summit two weeks ago ahead of the annual climate conference. On his return to Berlin, the chancellor said he had asked journalists who accompanied him whether any of them wanted to stay.
“No one raised their hand,” Merz said. He argued that the reporters were “happy” to return to Germany, which he described as “one of the most beautiful countries in the world.”
The statement triggered anger in Brazil, including from President Lula.
At the time, Lula said Merz should have gone to a bar in Belém, danced and tried out the local cuisine.
BERLIN—Europe is moving to relax some of the world’s tightest digital regulations in a bid to boost growth and reduce its reliance on U.S. tech.
Germany and France on Tuesday backed an effort by the European Union, long seen as a global rulesetter for technology, artificial intelligence and digital services, to loosen regulatory strictures on the fast-growing, U.S.-dominated sectors.
BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s governing coalition agreed to subsidize energy prices for heavy industry over the next three years as it tries to breathe new life into a stubbornly slow economy that is weighing on Europe’s performance.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he and other coalition leaders agreed Thursday evening to introduce an electricity price of about 5 euro cents (6 U.S. cents) per kilowatt hour starting Jan. 1, through 2028, to “support companies that use a lot of electricity and face international competition.”
Talks on the plan with the European Union’s executive commission are near-complete and “we assume we will get permission for this,” Merz said.
The German economy, Europe’s biggest, has shrunk for the past two years and has not seen significant growth for much longer. The conservative Merz’s coalition government with the center-left Social Democrats has made revitalizing it a priority since taking office in early May.
Still, results haven’t shown through yet, with gross domestic product stagnating in the third quarter. This week, the government’s panel of independent economic advisers forecast it will grow by an unimpressive 0.9% next year after edging up 0.2% this year.
The country’s economy, which is heavy on manufacturing and exports, has been held back by multiple factors including high energy prices, competition from Chinese producers of autos and industrial machinery, a lack of skilled workers and excessive bureaucracy.
The government has launched a program to encourage investment and set up a fund of 500 billion euros ($581.4 billion) to pour money into Germany’s creaking infrastructure over the next 12 years. The government promises to cut red tape and speed up the country’s lagging digitization.
ING economist Carsten Brzeski, who put the current energy price at some 15 euro cents (17 U.S. cents) per kilowatt hour, said Friday that the planned subsidy “sends a strong signal and could provide industry not only short-term relief but also clarity and stability for years to come.”
Holger Lösch, deputy managing director of the Federation of German Industries, said the subsidized price would “help particularly energy-intensive industrial companies to remain competitive internationally,” adding that he hopes the EU allows Germany the flexibility to reduce a large number of companies’ costs.
Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil put the expected cost of the measure at between 3 and 5 billion euros ($3.4 billion and $5.8 billion).
Coalition leaders also agreed to cut a tax on airline tickets starting in July, something the air transport industry has long demanded. The measures will need parliamentary approval.
The premier of the eastern German state of Saxony is calling for energy to be sourced from Russia again after the end of the war in Ukraine.
“It must be in our interest to resume energy supplies from Russia after a ceasefire,” Michael Kretschmer told the Funke media group on Saturday.
“Russia must be a trading partner again in the future – without us becoming dependent on it again.” Good economic relations also increase Germany’s security, he said.
Kretschmer, who is from Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has repeatedly spoken out in favour of resuming Russian gas supplies when the war eventually ends. He has been criticized for this even from within the ranks of his own party.
The European Union has imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine, now into its fourth winter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has characterized the measures as economic warfare. He has repeatedly pointed out that Europe in particular is suffering as a result.
Kretschmer said Germany “must also consider the sanctions against Russia from our own economic perspective.” German energy policy is leading to deindustrialization, he argued.
Asked whether he felt threatened by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kretschmer replied that “Russia has attacked another country. Therefore, we must position ourselves to defend ourselves.”
This can only be achieved if Germany is economically strong, he said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during the German Cabinet meeting at the German Chancellery in Berlin. Michael Kappeler/dpa
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will hold talks on Thursday in Berlin with representatives of the car industry, including manufacturers, suppliers, trade unions and state officials.
Germany’s famous automotive sector is grappling with declining sales, competition from China, the transition to e-mobility, and EU regulations aimed at reducing carbon emissions.
Additionally, higher tariffs on US imports are adding to the challenges. Many companies are reporting sharp drops in profits, implementing cost-cutting measures, and reducing jobs.
According to the German government, the two-hour meeting will focus on finding joint solutions to position the car industry successfully for future technologies. The aim is to secure jobs while meeting climate targets.
Merz, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, the president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) Hildegard Müller and IG Metall union chairwoman Christiane Benner will provide updates following the meeting.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that Germany should pull out of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna if Israel were to be excluded.
Asked in an interview programme on public broadcaster ARD whether Germany should voluntarily forgo participation in that case, the conservative politician replied: “I would support that. I think it’s a scandal that this is even being discussed. Israel belongs there.”
The musical extravaganza sees countries from Europe, but also beyond, each submit a song to compete for the title, with performances judged by national juries and public voting.
Pressure on the song contest’s organizers has been growing for weeks, with several broadcasters, including from from Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands, threatening to withdraw if Israel is not barred from taking part, citing the country’s military action in the Gaza Strip.
National broadcasters play a central role in Eurovision, as they are the official representatives of their countries within the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), responsible for selecting their entries, coordinating the live broadcasts and overseeing voting procedures.
The EBU said late last month that it will hold an online meeting of all member broadcasters in November to vote on participation in the 2026 contest.
The next Eurovision is scheduled to take place in Vienna in May 2026.
Large public protests against Israel’s Eurovision participation occurred this year and last.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to give an address on Friday as the nation celebrates reunification, 35 years after the event.
On October 3, 1990, the states that made up East Germany were integrated into the Federal Republic of Germany – the formal name for West Germany – ending the long division of the German nation after World War II.
This year, Saarbrücken is hosting the main event and Merz said he does not plan to focus on the past so much as to address the issues he sees as urgent to solve the country’s problems.
As a guest of honour, French President Emmanuel Macron is also due to give a speech at the ceremony held in the south-western state which borders France.
The two halves of Germany were reunited after more than 40 years of division, about a year after the peaceful revolution in East Germany and the opening of the borders.
Living conditions differed significantly at the time but have since become much more similar, though disparities remain in terms of wages, wealth and productivity, all of which are lower in the East.
And as views on many political issues diverge, polls suggest many people presently see more differences than commonalities between the two parts of the country.
Merz is also heading to eastern Germany in the evening for a concert in Halle an der Saale. It is part of a series of choral events held simultaneously in villages and towns nationwide, recalling the prayers and peaceful revolution of 1989.
Germany’s Deutsche Bahn is getting a “restart,” Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder said on Monday, as he presented the railway operator’s new strategy to tackle years of decline.
The country’s rail network has developed a reputation for poor service, delays and creaking infrastructure in recent years.
Illustrating the scale of the problems facing Deutsche Bahn, an issue to an overhead line caused massive disruption to rail traffic between Hamburg and Berlin on Monday as Schnieder outlined the new strategy in the capital.
“Many people equate the non-functioning of the railway with the non-functioning of our state,” said the minister, who took office as part of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government in May.
“I find that extremely dangerous,” he added. “We have to show that our state works and that our railway works.”
A new chief executive is to be appointed, with Evelyn Palla – previously responsible for regional traffic – to replace Richard Lutz after eight years at the helm.
Schnieder set out three “immediate programmes for a better travel experience,” including better security at train stations, improvements to the DB Navigator app, and improved cleanliness in long-distance trains.
He also announced that existing punctuality targets, which he described as “beyond all reality,” would be lowered in the coming years.
The new aim is for 70% of long-distance trains to run on time by the end of 2029, with a long-term target for punctuality to reach 90%.
In the first half of the year, more than one-third of long-distance trains in the country were delayed by at least six minutes.
Germany’s main railway lines are currently undergoing an ambitious renovation programme, with 40 busy tracks to be modernized by 2036.
In the intervening years, passengers face ongoing delays due to breakdowns in old infrastructure, as highlighted by Monday’s issue on the line between Hamburg and Berlin.
Trains between the two cities have been cancelled, with passengers advised to travel via Hanover, where trains were running with delays of up to 50 minutes.
Palla admitted on Monday: “This is not a sprint. The refurbishment of the railway’s infrastructure is a marathon.”
German Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder and the designated new rail CEO Evelyn Palla present the new German rail strategy together. Andreas Gora/dpa
Germany’s defense establishment is starting to lose patience. After years of friction with Dassault Aviation (DUAVF) over who gets to call the shots on Europe’s next-generation fighter jet, Berlin is now exploring ways to move ahead with the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) even if France pulls out. According to people familiar with recent conversations, German defense officials and lawmakers have opened quiet discussions with alternative partners, including Sweden and the UK, should Dassault continue pushing for what some see as an outsized leadership role. Dassault CEO Eric Trappier pushed back on claims of an 80% control demand, calling them a caricaturebut insisted the program needs a designated lead, a position he believes Dassault is best placed to fill, citing its Rafale track record.
Talks between Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid added urgency to the situation. Both leaders reaffirmed the strategic importance of FCAS, but signaled diverging red lines: Merz wants progress as soon as possible, even if that means breaking the impasse, while Sanchez reiterated Spain’s preference for sticking with the original tripartite structure. Meanwhile, Airbus SE continues to resist Dassault’s leadership push, viewing it as incompatible with past agreements. The UK may be a long shot for FCAS collaboration, given its commitment to the competing GCAP program with BAE Systems and Leonardo. But political instability in France and Dassault’s increasingly firm stance could force Berlin to rethink the lineup entirely.
German and French defense ministers have been tasked with proposing a realistic path forward by year-endbut whether they can bridge the rift remains an open question. If Dassault exits, FCAS could fracture, reshaping the power map of Europe’s defense sector at a time when industrial autonomy is becoming a priority. For investors tracking aerospace names like Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo, this evolving dynamic could introduce new opportunitiesor fresh execution risksas the race for Europe’s sixth-gen fighter splinters into multiple paths. Germany’s willingness to act without France may not be a bluffit could be the next phase.
Germany is to set out its position on proposed EU sanctions against Israel before a European Union meeting in October, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday, during his first visit to Madrid since taking office in May.
Merz told a press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez that the Cabinet will discuss European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal next week, ahead of an EU summit in Copenhagen.
“I expect we will have a position at the informal council on October 1 in Copenhagen that is supported by the entire federal government,” Merz said.
Von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed several punitive measures aimed at pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to change course. The sanctions would see free trade benefits withdrawn and sanctions imposed on extremist Israeli ministers.
From the European Commission’s perspective, Israel is violating human rights and international humanitarian law with its military offensive.
Sánchez expressed support for the EU sanctions, saying Spain has long called for suspending the EU-Israel strategic partnership agreement.
Merz was due to discuss cooperation with Spain, European political issues and security policies in the Spanish capital. While relations between Germany and Spain are considered good, there are differences on their stance on Israel.
Merz, like Sánchez, sharply criticizes the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, but Berlin has so far rejected imposing sanctions on Israel, apart from restricting arms exports.
In contrast, Spain took measures early in the Gaza conflict. In 2024, it became the first EU member to join South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
At the beginning of September, Sánchez announced a complete arms embargo and a travel ban for those “directly involved in the genocide, human rights violations and war crimes in Gaza.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is due to travel to Madrid on Thursday for his inaugural visit to discuss cooperation between the two countries, European political issues and security policy with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Although the relations between Germany and Spain are generally considered good, there are significant differences on one particular issue – their stance on Israel.
While Merz, like Sánchez, sharply criticizes the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, Germany has so far rejected imposing sanctions on Israel, apart from restricting arms exports.
In contrast, Spain took concrete measures early in the Gaza conflict. In 2024, it became the first EU member to join South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
At the beginning of September, Sánchez announced a complete arms embargo and a travel ban “for all those individuals directly involved in the genocide, human rights violations and war crimes in Gaza.”
On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen clarified her proposals for sanctions targeting Israel.
Free trade benefits should be revoked, and punitive measures should be taken against extremist Israeli ministers and settlers, von der Leyen said.
From the European Commission’s perspective, the country is violating human rights and international humanitarian law with its military offensive and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe.
Merz has not yet taken a position on the proposals.
Members of Germany’s opposition on Tuesday ripped into the government’s plans for the 2025 budget, which are set to be at the heart of parliamentary debate this week.
Lawmakers are to vote on this year’s budget in the coming days, after failure to agree on how to plug a multibillion-euro hole brought down the previous administration of chancellor Olaf Scholz in November last year.
Subsequent early elections in February meant this year’s budget had to wait until a new government was in place, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative-led alliance taking the helm in May.
Thanks to the delay, the 2025 budget is only set to be in effect for three months if lawmakers approve the plans at the end of the week – which has made it comparatively easy for Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil to come up with a draft.
Regardless, opposition lawmakers accused the government of relying too heavily on borrowing after the coalition moved to exempt spending on defence and infrastructure from the country’s strict debt rules.
According to Michael Espendiller, chief budgetary officer for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the government is “unabashedly pursuing the most extreme level of debt this country has ever seen.”
His party, the biggest opposition force, advocates complying with Germany’s debt rules known as the debt brake, and has proposed cutting funding for climate measures, EU contributions and arms deliveries to Ukraine instead.
Ines Schwerdtner from The Left party, meanwhile, said the money was not reaching those needing it the most.
“Never before has a government spent so much money, and never before has so little reached the people,” the far-left party leader said.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz is appealing for Germany’s manufacturing community to have confidence in his government.
“We know that we have to solve problems from the political centre of our country,” Merz told representatives of Germany’s mechanical engineering industry gathered in Berlin on Tuesday.
“We have a stable government that has accepted the task of leading this country successfully,” he added, and asked the engineering association to critically monitor the government’s performance, but with the necessary degree of confidence.
Germany’s coalition of Merz’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the centre-left SPD is united in its goal of making Germany a competitive location again, the chancellor said.
He said that it was vitally important to keep Germany’s manufacturing industry in the country, and reiterated the need for reforms of the welfare state in view of rising costs.
He told the meeting that he had announced an “autumn of reforms,” and promised to dismantle many existing regulations. “I imagine that in October we will hold a Cabinet meeting in which we will not pass a single new law, but rather abolish a whole series of existing laws and regulations,” he said.
Earlier, the president of the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), Bertram Kawlath, had called on Merz to implement fundamental reforms to ease the burden on companies. “We are at a tipping point today, not only economically, but also socially,” he said, adding that if the democratic centre failed to deliver, Germany’s political fringes would benefit.
Kawlath described the situation in the industry as serious, and said political hesitation on reforms comes at a high price. “More and more companies are facing deep cuts,” he said. He called for lower taxes and levies, less bureaucracy and faster investment approvals.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will attend the nation’s Eurobasket 2025 final against Turkey on Sunday in Riga.
The presidential office said on Saturday that Steinmeier will make the trip to Latvia where world champions Germany aim for a second continental title 32 years after the first in 1993.
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Germany’s government will also be represented, through Christiane Schenderlein, the state minister for sport and volunteering in the chancellery.
“The whole government has its fingers crossed for the German team on Sunday,” government sources said.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz had congratulated the team on X after Friday’s semi-final victory against Finland.
“Final – what a strong game. You have inspired an entire country. Good luck in the final,” Merz said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is “perhaps the most serious war criminal of our time,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in an interview set to air on Tuesday evening.
“He is a war criminal,” Merz told the broadcaster Sat.1, referring to the Russian leader.
“We simply have to be clear about how to deal with war criminals. There is no place for leniency,” he added.
Merz has levelled severe criticism against Russia since taking office in May, accusing Moscow of “the most serious war crimes” and “terror against the civilian population.”
The personal description of the Russian president as a war criminal, however, is new.
Merz’s comments came after he was asked what name he would give Putin after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the Kremlin leader as a “predator” during a trip to Poland.
French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the restoration of close ties between Paris and Berlin as he hosted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at his summer residence on Thursday before high-level talks between ministers from both states.
After years of strained relations with Merz’s predecessor, Olaf Scholz, the French leader said the successful restart of relations can serve as a driving force for strengthening Europe.
Following the change of government in Berlin earlier this year, the two leaders have “opened a new chapter in Franco-German relations,” Macron said after welcoming his German counterpart to the Fort de Brégançon on the Côte d’Azur.
“I believe that the Franco-German tandem is now perfectly coordinated to create a stronger Europe in the areas of economy, trade and currency,” he stated.
Merz also emphasized the importance of the “axis” of the two countries’ ties, saying “Germany and France play a central role in this European Union, on this European continent.”
He also highlighted the crucial role of unity among all 27 EU member states. If this unity is achieved, “then we are truly strong, and Europe becomes a factor in the world,” Merz said.
“The developments in this world show how important it is for us to become a powerful factor in the world — economically, politically, and also in terms of security policy.”
Macron added that the relationship would be key in establishing “a Europe that asserts its geopolitical position in the Ukraine conflict in light of Russia’s war of aggression, and a Europe that has decided to rearm itself to ensure its protection.”
The relationship between Macron and Merz is considered significantly better than with predecessor Olaf Scholz.
However, a long list of differences in policy remains between the two countries, including the nuclear energy debate, France’s support for joint European debt and Germany’s backing for the MERCOSUR trade deal with South American countries.
Ministerial Council on Friday
Merz arrived in southern France on Thursday ahead of the two governments holding consultations on economic and security policy against the backdrop of a political crisis in Paris.
On Friday, half of Merz’s Cabinet will participate in the Ministerial Council in Toulon.
Among those expected to attend on the German side are Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt.
A Franco-German Defence and Security Council will later convene to discuss, in a smaller circle, the production of weapons systems in Europe as well as joint Franco-German armament projects.
But the meetings may be overshadowed by a deep government crisis in France.
Prime Minister François Bayrou has called a vote of confidence in parliament on September 8.
The government is expected to fall, and new elections cannot be ruled out. Although the crisis does not directly affect the presidency, it weakens Macron.
Merz and his German ministers will therefore be negotiating on Friday with a French Cabinet whose tenure remains uncertain.
BERLIN (AP) — The German economy shrank by 0.3% in the second quarter compared with the previous three-month period, official data showed Friday, a significantly worse showing than was initially reported as tensions with the U.S. over tariffs simmered.
In a preliminary report at the end of July, the Federal Statistical Office said gross domestic product contracted by 0.1% in April-June compared with the first quarter for Europe’s biggest economy. That contributed to a lackluster showing for the 20-nation eurozone.
Full data showed output in manufacturing and the construction industry was worse than expected in June and household spending for the quarter also was revised downward, the office said Friday. The decline followed growth of 0.3% in the first quarter.
The German economy has shrunk for the past two years. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s administration has made revitalizing it a top priority since taking office May 6.
It has launched a program to encourage investment and set up a 500 billion-euro ($582 billion) fund to pour money into Germany’s creaking infrastructure over the next 12 years. It is promising to cut red tape and speed up the country’s lagging digitization.
A group of dozens of companies last month pledged to invest at least 631 billion euros ($731.7 billion) in Germany over the next three years, a figure that included some previously planned investments but was designed to send a signal of confidence in the economy.
ING economist Carsten Brzeski said “after the surge in economic activity resulting from the U.S. front-loading of German exports in the first quarter, the economy experienced a reversal of the front-loading effect, and the first full-blown impact of U.S. tariffs (implemented in the second quarter) took effect.”
It could “take until next year before a more substantial recovery starts to unfold,” he said.
BERLIN — As the far-right Alternative for Germany continues to rise — and its radicalism becomes increasingly pronounced — a growing chorus of mainstream politicians is asking whether the best way to stop the party is to try to ban it.
The debate kicked off in earnest after Saskia Esken, the co-chief of the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), came out earlier this month in favor of discussing a ban — if only, as she put it, to “shake voters” out of their complacency.
Since then, politicians from across the political spectrum have weighed in on whether a legal effort to ban Alternative for Germany (AfD), while possible under German law, would be tactically smart — or only further fuel the party’s rise.
Like so much of German politics, the conversation is colored by the country’s Nazi past. In a society mindful that Adolf Hitler initially gained strength at the ballot box, with the Nazis winning a plurality of votes in federal elections before seizing power, a growing number of political leaders, particularly on the left, view a prohibition of the AfD — a party they view as a dire threat to Germany’s democracy — as an imperative rooted in historical experience.
Others fear the attempt would backfire by allowing the AfD to depict their mainstream opponents as undermining the democratic will of the German people, desperate to ban a party they can’t beat.
Indeed, the AfD appears to be trying to turn the debate to its tactical advantage.
“Calls for the AfD to be banned are completely absurd and expose the anti-democratic attitude of those making these demands,” said Alice Weidel, co-leader of the party, in a written statement to POLITICO. “The repeated calls for a ban show that the other parties have long since run out of substantive arguments against our political proposals.”
The debate is assuming greater urgency in a key year in which the AfD appears set to do better than ever in June’s European Parliament election as well as in three state elections in eastern Germany in September. The party is currently in second place with 23 percent support in national polls; across all the states of the former East Germany, not including Berlin, the AfD is currently leading in polls.
Calls for a party ban grew louder this week following revelations that AfD members attended a secretive meeting of right-wing extremists where a “master plan” for deporting millions of people, including migrants and “unassimilated citizens,” was discussed. The news sent shockwaves across the country, with many drawing parallels to similar plans made by the Nazis. One of the people reportedly in attendance was Roland Hartwig, a former parliamentarian and now a close personal aide to Weidel, the party’s co-leader.
In a post on X, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suggested it was a matter for the German judiciary.
“Learning from history is not just lip service,” he said. “Democrats must stand together.”
Many of the AfD’s most extreme leaders operate in eastern Germany, where the party is also the most popular. In two of the three states where the AfD will be competing in state elections next year — Thuringia and Saxony — state-level intelligence authorities have labeled local party branches as “secured extremist” — a designation that strengthens legal arguments for a ban.
Saskia Esken of the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) called for a ban on the AfD party to ‘shake’ up complacent voters | Michele Tantussi/Getty Images
Germany’s constitution allows for bans of parties that “seek to undermine or abolish the free democratic basic order” — essentially allowing the state to use anti-democratic means to prevent an authoritarian party from corroding democracy from within.
In reality, the legal hurdle for imposing a ban is very high. Germany’s constitutional court has only done it twice: The Socialist Reich Party, an heir to the Nazi party, was banned in 1952, while the Communist Party of Germany was prohibited in 1956.
More recently, in 2017, the court ruled that a neo-Nazi party known as the National Democratic Party (NPD), while meeting the ideological criteria for a prohibition, was too fringe to ban, as it lacked popular support and therefore the power to endanger German democracy.
Given the AfD’s poll numbers, however, an effort to ban it would pose an entirely different dilemma: How would politicians handle the backlash from the party’s many supporters?
Germany’s postwar democracy has arguably never faced a greater test, and politicians — as well as the public — remain divided over how to respond.
Center-right conservatives, who are leading in national polls, tend to view a ban attempt unfavorably.
“Such sham debates are grist to the AfD’s mill,” Friedrich Merz, the leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union, told the Münchner Merkur newspaper. In response to Esken, the SPD leader who favors exploring a ban, Merz added: “Does the SPD chairwoman seriously believe that you can simply ban a party that reaches 30 percent in the polls? That’s a frightening suppression of reality.”
For the SPD, the stakes in terms of their political survival are much higher. The party has experienced a sharp decline in its popularity, and in two states in Germany’s east it is dangerously close to falling below the 5 percent hurdle needed to win seats in state parliaments.
Even within the SPD — a party whose history of resistance to the Nazis is a source of great internal pride — there is sharp disagreement over whether a ban is a good idea.
“If we ban a party that we don’t like, but which is still leading in the polls, it will lead to even greater solidarity with it,” Carsten Schneider, a social democrat who serves as federal commissioner for eastern Germany, told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “And even from people who are not AfD sympathizers or voters, the collateral damage would be very high.”
BERLIN — The political maneuver shaking Germany’s postwar democratic order involves a piece of legislation that is about as mundane as it gets.
Center-right legislators in the eastern German state of Thuringia wanted to cut a local property tax by a small amount — and did so with the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD.
The move broke with years of tradition in which mainstream parties have vowed to maintain a Brandmauer, or firewall, between themselves and the AfD, a party many in a country alert to the legacy of Nazism see as a dire threat to democracy. Even accepting the party’s support, the thinking goes, would legitimize far-right forces or make them salonfähig — socially acceptable.
And so, when parliamentarians from the conservative Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, passed the tax reduction on a late afternoon in September with AfD votes, it sent tremors across the country’s political landscape that still are reverberating.
“For me, a taboo has been broken,” Katrin Göring-Eckardt, a leader of the Greens who hails from Thuringia, said after the vote. “It shows me not only that the firewall is gone, but that there is open collaboration.”
For mainstream parties, and the CDU in particular, the question of how to handle the growing presence of far-right radicals in governing bodies from federal and state parliaments to local councils is likely to grow only more vexing.
That especially is the case in the states of the former East Germany, where the AfD now leads in polls at around 28 percent. Next year, the eastern states of Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg will all hold parliamentary elections. Polls show the party leading in all three states.
The AfD is likely to expand its presence in the parliaments of Bavaria and Hesse when those states vote on Sunday. In Hesse, the AfD is coming close to overtaking German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party, according to the latest polls.
The dilemma facing mainstream parties is clear. To work with the AfD means to normalize a party that many believe seeks to subvert the republic from within. But to ostracize the party only alienates its many voters.
The firewall also serves as an unintended political gift, allowing the AfD to depict itself — at a time of high dissatisfaction with mainstream parties — as the clear choice for those who want to send a burn-it-down message to the country’s political establishment.
At the same time, the controversy over the latest vote in Thuringia seems to have played into the AfD’s hands, allowing the party to depict itself as seeking to uphold rather than undermine democracy.
The “‘firewall’ is history — and Thuringia is just the beginning,” AfD party leader Alice Weidel posted on X, formerly Twitter, after the vote. “It’s time to respond to the democratic will of citizens everywhere in Germany.”
Historic fears
Germany’s political leaders are all too aware that the Nazi seizure of power began with democratic electoral success. In fact, it was in Thuringia where, in 1930, the Nazi party first took real governing power in coalition with conservative parties.
The “‘firewall’ is history — and Thuringia is just the beginning,” AfD party leader Alice Weidel posted on X, formerly Twitter, after the vote. “It’s time to respond to the democratic will of citizens everywhere in Germany” | Christof Stache/AFP via Getty Images
That fact was not lost on the CDU’s opponents.
“German conservatism has already been a stirrup holder of fascism,” Janine Wissler, a head of the Left party, told the German Press Agency after the vote. “Back then, too, it started in Thuringia,” she added. “Instead of having learned from that, the CDU is going down a path that’s as dangerous as fire.”
CDU leaders in Thuringia deny the vote on the tax reduction means the firewall is crumbling. They say there was no cooperation with the AfD ahead of the vote (though AfD members say there were discussions between lawmakers).
“I cannot make good, important decisions for the state that provide relief for families and the economy dependent on the fact that the wrong people might agree,” Mario Voigt, the head of the CDU in Thuringia said after the vote.
Friedrich Merz, the national leader of the CDU, has sent mixed signals on the firewall — or at least on what exactly the firewall means. Merz says the CDU will not form coalitions with the AfD but he’s been less clear on whether the CDU will work with the party in other ways.
In a television interview over the summer, he seemed to suggest working with the AfD on the local level was all but inevitable.
Friedrich Merz, the national leader of the CDU, has sent mixed signals on the firewall | Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images
“We are of course obliged to accept democratic elections,” he said. “And if a district administrator, a mayor is elected there who belongs to the AfD, it’s natural that you look for ways to then continue to work in this city.”
After an uproar ensued, Merz walked back the comment. “There will be no cooperation between the CDU and the AfD at the municipal level either,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
After the vote in Thuringia, Merz stood by the CDU leadership of the state. “We don’t go by who agrees, we go by what we think is right in the matter,” he said on German television.
Even some within his own party do not see things that way. Daniel Günther, the CDU premier of the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, sharply criticized his party colleagues in Thuringia. “As a conservative, I must be able to say plainly and simply the sentence, ‘I do not form majorities with extremists,’” Günther said.
‘Cordon sanitaire’
It’s not the first time Thuringia has been at the center of a controversy over the firewall. In 2020, a little-known politician in the pro-business Free Democratic Party, Thomas Kemmerich, was elected state premier with the support of the CDU and AfD. Then-Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in to call the vote “unforgivable.”
In the furor that followed, Kemmerich resigned as did the then-head of the CDU faction in the state. But given the AfD’s large presence in the local parliament, the issue was bound to resurface.
It’s not the first time Thuringia has been at the center of a controversy over the firewall | Christof Stache/AFP via Getty Images
The problem is far from Germany’s alone. Mainstream parties are under growing pressure due to the rise of the radical right across Europe.
In France, parties from across the political spectrum have formed a cordon sanitaire, or sanitary cordon, to keep Marine Le Pen, a leader of the far-right National Rally, out of the presidency. But with Le Pen’s party now the biggest opposition group in the National Assembly, the cordon is getting harder to maintain.
In the European Parliament, where a similar cordon has been erected, the center-right European People’s Party has been openly courting the European Conservatives and Reformists, home to Poland’s nationalist Law and Justice party and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party.
In Thuringia, the stakes are even higher as the local branch of the AfD contains some of the party’s most extreme members. State-level intelligence authorities tasked with surveilling anti-constitutional groups have characterized the party’s local branch as extremist.
The leader of the AfD in Thuringia is Björn Höcke, who is set to face trial for using banned Nazi rhetoric. (In 2021, he closed a speech with the phrase “Alles für Deutschland!” or “Everything for Germany!” — a slogan used by Nazi stormtroopers.)
Höcke railed against Holocaust remembrance in Germany and warned of “Volkstod,” the death of the Volk, through “population replacement.” For such views, German courts have ruled that Höcke could justifiably be referred to as a fascist or Nazi.
GERMANY NATIONAL PARLIAMENT ELECTION POLL OF POLLS
BERLIN — Germany’s center-right opposition wants to raise the heat on Chancellor Olaf Scholz by launching a parliamentary investigation into his alleged connection to a massive tax evasion scandal.
The case — which dates back over five years to the time when Scholz was still mayor of the Hamburg city-state — is linked to the broader so-called “Cum Ex” affair, under which the German state was defrauded by over €30 billion as some banks, companies, or individuals claimed tax reimbursements from authorities for alleged costs that never occurred.
The scandal already hung over the Social Democratic politician’s election campaign in 2021 but had little impact in the end as Scholz’s potential involvement remained unclear. Now it is heating up again after new details emerged that put his previous defense in question.
The Hamburg regional parliament plans to summon Scholz this spring — which will be for the third time — to an investigative committee looking into the scandal. And now the center-right CDU/CSU bloc also wants to set up an inquiry at the national level in the Bundestag.
“We will request a parliamentary committee of inquiry into the Scholz-Warburg tax affair in the German Bundestag in the first parliamentary week after the Easter vacations,” said the CDU’s Mathias Middelberg, deputy parliamentary group chairman, on Tuesday.
A government spokesperson said that “as a matter of principle,” Berlin does not comment on decisions announced by Bundestag members “out of respect for the constitutional body,” according to media reports.
Katja Mast, the Social Democrats’ chief whip, said the CDU/CSU is not following any interest in knowledge, but rather party tactical interests. “They bring up allegations that have long been refuted,” she said, adding that the committee in Hamburg had clarified all questions.
The CDU/CSU group has enough votes in parliament to be able to set up an investigative committee. The Left party also said it would back such a request. Parliamentary investigative committees can hear witnesses and experts and request access to documents. Although the findings are summarized in a non-binding report, the political consequences, such as for upcoming elections, could be significant.
In a letter to the CDU/CSU parliamentary group seen by POLITICO, chairmen Friedrich Merz and Alexander Dobrindt said that the case should be investigated due to its “significant” importance for German national politics.
Scholz has come under scrutiny because of his links to one Hamburg-based bank involved in the tax evasion scheme: During his time as mayor, he met on three separate occasions in private with one of the owners of the M.M. Warburg & Co. bank, which was already under investigation at the time by the Hamburg tax office. Officials were planning to reclaim €47 million, which they believed were ill-gotten gains in connection with the fraud.
However, in the end, the finance authority let the statute of limitations on the payment demand expire — and years later, after details of Scholz’s meetings with the banker emerged, critics began questioning whether the top Social Democrat might have intervened in favor of the bank.
Although the chancellor has constantly denied having intervened, he has also given no answer on what was discussed during the private meetings. Instead, Scholz said on several occasions during the past two-and-a-half years that he cannot remember the content of the discussions.
During his time as mayor of the Hamburg city-state, Scholz met with one of the owners of the M.M. Warburg & Co. Bank, involved in a tax evasion scheme | Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images
That defense is now being called into question as details emerged of a previous and longtime confidential Bundestag committee hearing with Scholz in July 2020, in which he appeared to easily remember details of his meetings with the banker. His critics argue that Scholz only started to claim having no memory of the meetings when their political and possibly criminal explosiveness became clear.
“This comprehensive memory gap of the chancellor after an initial memory of a concrete meeting … raises a multitude of questions to be clarified,” the letter from the CDU/CSU states.
Scholz and his allies have repeatedly rejected such criticism as politically motivated and stressed that past investigations found no wrongdoing. Scholz also highlighted that in the end, the bank did repay the €47 million, albeit only after it was ordered to do so by a court. The Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office said in March that it does not see any initial suspicion against the chancellor in the affair.
That hasn’t discouraged the opposition from planning to dig deeper, though.
“The chancellor would like to see … a line drawn under the clarification of this tax affair. But it is precisely the task of parliament to control the government, to look closely, especially with so many unanswered questions,” said CDU lawmaker Matthias Hauer.
