Germany Faces Heatwave and Debate on Defamation Laws

Like much of Europe, Germany is set to continue baking throughout this week with the country in the grip of a major heatwave.

On Sunday, the German Meteorological Service (DWD) said that the usually cooler regions in the north of the country would be affected and even predicted that temperatures could reach 40°C (104°F) in certain parts of the southwest.

The intense heat brings with it an increased chance of severe storms, as in Berlin, where the fire brigade attended around 160 call-outs over the weekend.

Trees were blown over and some of the 300 stages hosting the "Fête de la Musique" music festival across the city were damaged but, fortunately, no serious accidents or injuries were reported.

However, there was one fatality in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt where sudden torrents of rain caused a motorway accident in which a driver lost control of a vehicle. One woman died and four other passengers were injured.

According to the DWD, temperatures are not expected to drop until the end of the week.

Summer Solstice brings intense heat wave to Europe

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has insisted that he's not bothered by personal insults – but he wants to adapt the law to protect state institutions and government offices from general defamation.

"If someone calls me an idiot, then that's up to them," he said at the German government's annual Open Day on Sunday, when government ministries open their doors to allow visitors to look behind the scenes. "I'm of a different opinion, but it doesn't make it a crime."

Merz admitted that he had pressed defamation charges in the past when subjected to personal insults but insisted that he has stopped doing so and hasn't taken any such action since becoming Chancellor.

The debate around where the boundary lies between freedom of expression and personal insult has flared up in Germany since prosecutors pressed charges against a student who held up a supposedly derogatory banner about Merz at a demonstration in Berlin. Some social media users have also received fines for comments on social media which were found to be defamatory.

Merz said that charges were generally pressed by state prosecutors rather than by politicians themselves and said he was "surprised" by the high number of cases – but he did say that state institutions and positions ought to be protected from defamation in order to maintain respect for the democratic system.

"The moment state offices are defamed, the fun stops," he said, differentiating between the person and the position. "We need to be able to combat that as a society because that's no longer freedom of expression; that damages our democracy."

To that end, Merz said he is open to reforming Paragraph 188, the German law that protects politicians from insult, defamation, and libel under certain circumstances.

Guten Morgen! Welcome to DW's coverage of what a sunny Germany is talking about on Monday, 22 June, 2026.

Like much of Europe, Germany remains in the grip of an intense heatwave with experts predicting that temperatures may even hit the 40°C mark (104°F) in some areas.

Amid a debate about what people can say about politicians, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has insisted that he's not personally bothered by insults, but he draws the line at defamation of state institutions and wants to adapt the law accordingly.

Meanwhile, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is expected in Lithuania where he will visit German troops stationed in the Baltic country and observe military exercises.

And finally, a new survey suggests that many Germans dream of finding a new job abroad, although presumably not because they want to escape the heat.

Stay with us for these stories and more.