Political leaders are visiting car giant Volkswagen for crisis talks, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz meets party colleagues after a testing summer.
Here is a roundup of top stories from and about Germany on Monday, August 24, 2026:
Lower Saxony's state premier is meeting VW worker representatives, unions and local management. The struggling carmaker says it is facing pressure to cut costs while protecting jobs. Conservative Christian Democrat leaders are meeting after the summer break. The meeting follows tensions over Merz's July reshuffle and upcoming state elections.
Eight people have been injured, some seriously, after a coach carrying mostly German schoolchildren crashed in the Netherlands. The Austrian-registered bus collided with a van early in the morning on the A28 near Wezep, around 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Amsterdam. Police said the coach hit the van before smashing through the central barrier and coming to rest on the opposite carriageway. Eight people were taken to hospital, including the driver of the van. Some of those injured were reported to be in serious condition. The crash caused extensive damage and the motorway was closed. Around 50 people were traveling on the coach.
Most Germans are concerned by the discovery of an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport, according to a new YouGov poll. The survey found 63% were worried by the incident, while 22% said they were only slightly concerned and 9% said they were not concerned at all. The drone was discovered on August 4 in a secure area of Leipzig/Halle Airport, close to Ukrainian cargo aircraft. Authorities have suspected possible Russian involvement, but the origin of the drone has not been established. The poll also found wider doubts about Germany's ability to protect airports and other critical infrastructure from hostile drones. 50% said Germany was "rather poorly" prepared. 30% said it was "very poorly" prepared. Just 11% considered Germany well prepared. 9% said they did not know. Supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) were the least concerned, according to the poll. Only slightly more than a third of AfD voters said the incident worried them. Among supporters of the populist left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), fewer than half expressed concern.
The leadership of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the ruling center-right party led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, is meeting Monday for its first regular talks since the summer break. The gathering comes after senior party figures sharply criticized personnel decisions made by Merz before the recess in July. After parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn resigned, Merz initiated eight personnel changes across the government, party leadership and parliamentary group. Particular anger within the CDU focused on the way Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder was replaced. Monday's meeting will offer an indication of whether those tensions have eased over the summer. The party leadership could also discuss a Cabinet retreat scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday as well as state elections due in September, in which the far-right Alternative for Germany is polling especially strongly in eastern states such as Saxony-Anhalt. A YouGov poll published over the weekend found that 54% of Germans expect Merz to leave office before the next scheduled federal election in 2029.
Lower Saxony state premier Olaf Lies is due to visit Volkswagen's Hanover plant for talks on the future of the struggling carmaker. Lies, a member of the center-left Social Democratic Party, was invited by Volkswagen's general works council and is expected to meet employee representatives, staff delegates and local plant management. The talks are expected to focus on Volkswagen's restructuring plans and the future of its German production sites. Afterward, Lies is due to brief the media alongside Lower Saxony deputy state premier Julia Willie Hamburg of the Green Party, works council chief Daniela Cavallo and representatives of the IG Metall trade union. The state of Lower Saxony holds a 20% ownership stake in the Volkswagen Group. Lies is also planning visits to VW plants in Osnabrück and Emden, while talks with representatives of the Zwickau factory in the eastern state of Saxony are expected to take place online. Volkswagen is trying to cut costs and improve competitiveness, raising concerns over jobs and the future of several plants. Workers, unions and politicians are seeking assurances over tens of thousands of jobs.
