Political extremism threatens Germany's existing social order, Chancellor Merz has said. The Transport Ministry has proposed a five-year plan to improve Germany's ailing railroad infrastructure.
Chancellor Merz has called the election of an AfD politician to the position of state parliamentary speaker a 'historic break'. A new 'Infraplan' outlining next steps in making the railroad network more reliable aims to make the process more transparent. Former BND spy chief Hanning ordered to remain in pretrial detention. Merz stressed Germany's friendship with Israel on the 3rd anniversary of the deadly October 7 terror attacks.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday addressed the threat of political extremism to the existing social order, accusing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and far-left BSW parties of wanting to wipe out 'the DNA of our democracy.' 'Extremism,' said Merz, 'is forcing its way into our state legislatures with a vengeance.' Merz, speaking in Berlin, called this week’s election of an AfD politician as speaker of Saxony-Anhalt's state parliament — the first time a far-right politician has been tapped to lead a statehouse since 1945 — a 'historic break.'
Moreover, Merz slammed politicians — potentially from his own conservative CDU party — for casting ballots in favor of Tobias Rausch in the Saxony-Anhalt vote. Rausch received 48 votes but the AfD and BSW only have 44 between them. It is unclear from whom Rausch picked up four extra votes — he was elected in a secret ballot. Observers assume these came from within the CDU, but Merz said 'false flag' attacks also occur in politics, implying the Social Democrats, the Left party and the Greens, all of which are also represented in the state's parliament, could be attempting to weaken or sow division in the CDU. 'Anyone who casts their vote for the AfD is playing the extremists' game and undermining credibility,' said Merz. 'In any case, this is incompatible with the values of my party, the CDU.'
The arrest of August Hanning, former president of Germany's foreign intelligence service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), and his former chief-of-staff, Manfred D., is threatening to cause a major rupture in Germany's intelligence relationships, according to analysts, as the full scale of the scandal begins to be understood abroad.
Police in Oberding, Bavaria, on Wednesday warned residents in Notzinger Moos near Munich airport to remain vigilant and urged them to keep children and small animals indoors amid a spate of puma sightings. 'According to initial expert assessments,' a spokesperson for the local government said, 'it could be a puma.' Authorities say it is unclear where such a cat would have come from, adding that no circuses are currently operating in the area.
The Frankfurt Book Fair opened with the Czech Republic as guest of honor. The program ranges from presentations of literary works to political debates. In addition, Latin America's 50th anniversary as the first guest of honor at the fair will be commemorated on a special stage, and Chile will present its plans as the guest country for 2027.
The parliamentary transport committee has finally endorsed a plan by railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) to build a new line linking Hannover and Hamburg by 2050. The project for what is one of Germany's most important transport routes is planned to cost at least €9 billion ($10 billion) and had prompted years of wrangling. It still requires backing by the full Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, on Thursday, but that is likely to be a formality.
The German government has said the acquisition of a majority of shares in Hamburg logistics company Zippel by China's state-owned shipping giant Cosco could pose a security threat and has blocked the sale. The purchase of 80% of shares in Zippel by a Chinese company 'would have deepened dependencies and jeopardized the resilience of Germany’s and the EU’s supply chains,' an Economy Ministry spokesman said.
Most people in Germany consider that Chancellor Friedrich Merz is not up to the job, a new survey has shown. In all, 67% of respondents in the survey by the Ipsos institute were either wholly or fairly in agreement with the statement 'The chancellorship of Friedrich Merz has failed.'
The co-leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), Lars Klingbeil, says coalition partner the Christian Democrats (CDU) has questions to answer after the election of Tobias Rausch, a politician from the Alternative for Germany (AfD), as parliamentary speaker in Saxony-Anhalt.
