Overview
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz begins meetings in Beijing with Premier Li Qiang and later President Xi Jinping, traveling with a large corporate delegation and a focus on trade ties, the Ukraine war and human rights.
- CDU foreign policy veteran Roderich Kiesewetter accuses Merz of keeping a "door to Russia open," citing the refusal to train or deliver Taurus missiles and limited pressure on Russia’s shadow fleet.
- In Baden‑Württemberg’s SWR triell, CDU lead candidate Manuel Hagel vowed never to cooperate with the AfD and apologized for an eight‑year‑old clip about schoolgirls, saying he would not phrase it that way today.
- A Heilbronn retiree faces a criminal probe after calling Merz "Pinocchio" on Facebook, with police filing a complaint under §188 StGB; criminal police are investigating and prosecutors are reviewing the case.
- One year into office, assessments of Merz’s government are sharply critical, with polling showing broad dissatisfaction and commentary highlighting a debt‑brake reversal and stalled reforms despite higher state spending.