PoliticsLeaked internal remarks about controversial pro-Palestinian activist Ibrahim Ibrahim have prompted questions about Elif Eralp’s ability to confront alleged extremists. The report examines whether the backlash could undermine her campaign to become Berlin’s next mayor.
PoliticsMore than 421,000 emails associated with Germany’s far-right AfD have appeared online after a cyberattack. The alleged trove includes private messages, sensitive personal data and reported references to racism, antisemitism and Nazi ideology, though much of it has not been independently verified.
PoliticsGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned in the Bundestag that extremism is gaining ground. He said some anger behind it stems from legitimate grievances, but urged constructive action rather than division. The warning comes as his government faces mounting pressure from the far-right Alternative for Germany and conservatives struggle in the polls.
PoliticsChancellor Friedrich Merz is urging major reductions to the EU’s proposed budget in a speech to Germany’s parliament. He is due to attend a tense EU leaders’ summit in Brussels on Thursday, amid disputes over member contributions. Pressure is growing to settle the spending package before unpredictable elections in several major member states next year and to maintain funding for Ukraine.
PoliticsPolitical fallout is growing after an AfD politician won one of Saxony-Anhalt’s highest offices. Critics suspect lawmakers from outside the party may have supported him in a secret ballot, putting Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives under pressure and reviving debate over Germany’s political firewall against the far right.
Politics12:45The AfD has become the first far-right party since World War II to win the speaker’s post in a German state parliament. It made the breakthrough in Saxony-Anhalt after a landslide in last month’s election, and is now seeking to lead the state government.
PoliticsClaims circulating online allege that the EU is threatening to block funds for Saxony-Anhalt after the far-right AfD won a recent election there. There is no evidence that the EU is planning such a move.
PoliticsChancellor Friedrich Merz is rapidly losing political room to maneuver as state-election defeats, record-low approval ratings and economic stagnation threaten his tenure. His bet that economic and tax reforms would curb the far-right AfD’s momentum appears to be unraveling, leaving his longer-term survival dependent on a fragile economic recovery.
Bloomberg Television
PoliticsRecent German state elections pointed to a more polarized political landscape. The far-right Alternative for Germany and the far-left Left Party emerged as winners in Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt, while the mainstream centrist parties suffered chastening results. What do the votes reveal about Germany’s condition and its direction?
PoliticsDuring Germany’s elections, fabricated videos falsely alleged that the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany was left off postal ballots or that votes had been destroyed. The claims echoed tactics previously associated with the pro-Russian influence network Storm-1516.
PoliticsGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the latest state election results a “disaster.” The AfD surged in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while the socialist Left Party won in Berlin, delivering another setback to Germany’s political center and raising questions about whether Merz is losing control of the political narrative.
PoliticsGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing mounting pressure after a series of election setbacks for his center-right CDU, including a defeat to the far-right AfD in Saxony-Anhalt and the party’s failure to pass the five-percent threshold for parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. CDU foreign policy spokesman Jürgen Hardt defends Merz and says key reforms will be crucial to strengthening his position.
PoliticsGermany’s mainstream parties suffered major setbacks in two pivotal state elections. The far-right AfD won in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while the Left Party led in Berlin. The results point to growing frustration with the political center and raise fresh questions about Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government and whether Germany is entering a more polarized political era.
PoliticsBerlin’s municipal election brought a historic win for the far-left Die Linke party, led by 45-year-old Elif Eralp, the daughter of Turkish political exiles. The discussion examines whether she can deliver on promises to freeze rents and nationalize private real-estate companies, as affordable housing becomes a major urban issue worldwide.
PoliticsDespite another disastrous election showing by Germany’s governing Christian Democratic Union, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to remain in office. He called the party’s heavy defeats in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin a “disaster.” Stanford University’s Ulrich Brückner weighs in.
PoliticsGermany’s governing CDU has suffered major losses in state elections, leading Chancellor Friedrich Merz to call the outcome a “disaster” and a “turning point”. Merz accepted personal responsibility and said Germany was undergoing a “profound transformation” of its party system. The report examines pressure from the far-right AfD in eastern Germany and the far-left Linke in Berlin, and whether the trend could reach western states.
PoliticsGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz and CDU representatives held a press conference on September 21 after the party suffered its worst regional election defeat in postwar Germany. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the CDU fell below the 5% threshold for entering the state parliament, a result Merz called a “disaster”.
PoliticsChancellor Friedrich Merz said the election result in the Baltic coast state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania marks a “deep turning point.” His Christian Democratic Union crashed out of a regional parliament there for the first time in Germany’s post-World War II history.
Bloomberg Television
PoliticsGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz and CDU representatives held a press conference on Monday, September 21, after the party suffered its worst regional election defeat in postwar Germany. The CDU fell below the 5% threshold for entering the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state parliament, while Merz called the result a “disaster”.
PoliticsThe far-right AfD says it has become Germany’s new “people’s party” after securing its second regional election victory in two weeks, increasing pressure on the poorly performing CDU and Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The far-left party also made gains with a third regional win, its latest in Berlin. Sorbonne professor Hans Stark said Merz is now in a very fragile situation.
PoliticsGermany’s Merz says he will remain in office despite what he described as a “disaster” in two regional elections.
PoliticsGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz struggled Monday to shore up his position and keep his agenda moving after voters handed his party two more defeats. One result removed it from a state legislature for the first time in its eight-decade history.
The Associated Press
PoliticsAfter another poor election result for Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union, Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed to stay in office. Merz called the outcomes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin a “disaster”, while political analyst Klaus Jurgens offered his assessment.
PoliticsGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz suffered another electoral setback as his centre-right CDU performed poorly in two state elections on Sunday. Projections indicated it would miss out on parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the far-right AfD led, while the far-left Die Linke topped the vote in Berlin. The AfD also made major gains in both states.