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Germany: Some 43% expect AfD state premier by 2026 — poll
Two thirds of respondents expect at least one state in Germany to have an AfD premier, according to a survey. Meanwhile, the Social Democrats are still pushing for tax cuts for low income groups. Follow Best for you.
A new poll for Bild am Sonntag newspaper revealed that more than two-thirds of Germans expect one of the country's state premiers to come from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party by next year.
Meanwhile, Germany's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) continues to push for tax cuts for low-income groups, despite resistance from its main coalition partner, the conservative CDU/CSU alliance.
And on the international front, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz will accompany Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for peace talks with US President Donald Trump.
This blog is a roundup of articles, explainers and analysis related to Germany on Saturday, August 16, and Sunday, August 17.
Merz, European leaders to join Trump-Zelenskyy talks
Germany's
Chancellor Friedrich Merz will accompany Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for peace talks with US President Donald Trump, the German government said Sunday.
The talks, in Washington DC on Monday, will also be attended by other European leaders, including the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU's executive arm.
French President Emmanuel Macron, NATO chief Mark Rutte and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will also travel to Washington.
"The talks will address, among other things, security guarantees, territorial issues, and continued support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. This includes maintaining pressure on sanctions," the German government said.
The talks follow a much-anticipated summit between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, aimed at bringing the war to an end.
Despite Trump's warm welcome for the Kremlin leader, the meeting produced no breakthrough on halting the war.
Two dead as vehicle rammed by train at level crossing
Two young men have died after a train collided with their vehicle at a level crossing in southern Germany.
DPA news agency reported that the 23-year-old driver ignored red flashing lights and a train approaching at full speed in the collision, near Manching in Bavaria.
The regional train from Ingolstadt drove head-on into the right side of the car despite the train driver applying an emergency brake, the police said.
The car was hurled 25 meters into the adjacent embankment and its wreckage was scattered over more than 100 meters, the police added.
The driver and his 22-year-old passenger are thought to have died instantly in the crash.
Police said there were no injuries to passengers on board the train and a replacement bus service was organized.
The 50-year-old train driver suffered severe shock and required medical treatment.
Although there is no barrier at the crossing, police said the light signal system was functioning correctly and showed red flashing lights.
Germany's Social Democrats keep up pressure on tax cuts
Germany's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) continues to push for tax cuts for low-income groups, despite resistance from its main coalition partner, the conservative CDU/CSU alliance.
The SPD's parliamentary chief whip, Dirk Wiese, told German magazine Stern he wanted to "provide relief for [those on] small and middle incomes."
"We are proposing a higher tax burden on very high incomes and the top top tax rate could take effect later," Wiese added.
He said this would relieve the burden on skilled workers and all those who "slave away" in shift work in the chemical or automotive industries, among others.
The SPD lawmaker acknowledged that "these [tax] discussions with the CDU/CSU are not easy, but we should have them."
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, of the CDU/CSU alliance, has played down the chance of income tax cuts, saying reform is "not fixed" and needs to be properly funded.
But Merz has said that his government wants to reduce income taxes "if the public budget allows it."
Two thirds expect AfD state premier by next year, poll says
A new poll for Bild am Sonntag newspaper revealed that more than two-thirds of Germans expect one of the country's state premiers to come from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party by next year.
The survey by the Insa opinion research institute found that 68% expect an AfD state premier within the next few months.
Some 43% of respondents expect at least one state in Germany to have an AfD premier, while 25% believe the party will get to appoint the leader of several states.
The AfD is keeping up the pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right CDU/CSU alliance, with weekly polls regularly putting the nationalist party in front nationally.
The German states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will hold state elections next year.
Nearly half of those polled (47%) said they support the country's far-right firewall, where all mainstream parties have ruled out working with the AfD. But 40% oppose the firewall.
Engine fire on Dusseldorf-bound flight sparks emergency landing
A Condor Airlines jet from Greece's vacation island of Corfu to western Germany made an emergency landing after one of the engines caught fire, public broadcaster WDR reported.
The Boeing 757 was carrying 273 passengers and eight crew when the blaze broke out shortly after takeoff, passengers and observers on the ground told the broadcaster.
Videos circulating on social media showed flames coming from the right engine turbine of the aircraft.
Flight DE 3665 was meant to land in Düsseldorf at 9:35 p.m. local time (1935 UTC/GMT) on Saturday but instead diverted to Brindisi, Italy. No one was injured.
A Condor spokeswoman told WDR that passengers were placed in hotels in Brindisi and were due to continue their journey on Sunday morning on a replacement plane.
Our Germany coverage continues
Guten Morgen! Best for you's newsroom in Bonn continues to keep an eye on the major news, sport and business developments across Germany as well as bringing you interviews and analysis from around the 16 states.
We're still watching for reaction from German politicians to the Trump-Putin summit, following Berlin's call for three-way peace talks, which includes the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A new poll shows that more than two-thirds of Germans believe one of the country's state premiers will come from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party by next year.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), is calling for a reduction in income taxes, particularly for low-income groups.
Bayern wins German Super Cup, beating Stuttgart 2-1
Bayern Munich won the Franz Beckenbauer Super Cup on Saturday after beating VFB Stuttgart 2-1.
This is the team's eighth win since the cup was revived in 2010, and the Bavarians' 11th win in total.
For the 2025-26 season, the cup was renamed in honor of Bayern player Franz Beckenbauer, who died last year.
Shortly before the game, German Cup winners Stuttgart dismissed speculation that their striker, Nick Woltemade, was to be poached by Bayern.
"Nick Woltemade will play for VfB Stuttgart next season, the issue is closed," Stuttgart boss Alexander Wehrle told Germany's Sky broadcaster.
German men seal 1st EuroHockey title in 12 years
The reigning world champion German men's field hockey team beat the Netherlands on Saturday to win their first European Championship in 12 years.
The Germans beat the Olympic champions 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at a sold-out Mönchengladbach Hockey Park.
Despite the 12-year drought, Germany still holds the record for most wins in the European competition with nine titles.
The team had already sealed their place in next year's World Cup — which will be hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands — after beating Spain in a tight semi-final on Thursday.
The match was also the last appearance for Germany's captain Mats Grambusch, who is retiring from international duty after 14 years in the national team.
German government rejects reparations for former colonies
The German government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that it plans to address atrocities committed under German colonial rule without paying out financial compensation, German media reported.
The statement comes following an inquiry by the opposition environmentalist Green Party.
"The concept of reparations in international law arises from the violation of an international obligation," the German government said, stressing that such an obligation did not exist at the time the atrocities were committed.
"The concept of reparations is therefore not applicable in the context of Germany's colonial past," the government said.
What was the German colonial empire?
The German colonial empire lasted from 1884 to 1920 and held territory including what is now Togo, Cameroon, Namibia, Burundi, Ghana, Rwanda and Tanzania in Africa.
In 2021, Germany offered to pay Namibia €1.1 billion ($1.28 billion) over the next 30 years in compensation for the 1904-1908 Herero and Nama genocide.
Some 80,000 indigenous Herero, or around 75% of the group's population at the time, died in the genocide.
Merz calls for 'swift' Ukraine peace deal
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for a peace agreement to be reached after a potential trilateral meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.
"We would have hoped for there to be a ceasefire for a start — the Russian side was clearly not ready for that" he told Germany's ZDF public broadcaster on Saturday.
Merz called for a swift peace deal, adding that such an agreement would be "worth more than a ceasefire which could last for weeks without further progress in political and diplomatic efforts."
Merz condemned as a sign of "particular disrespect" Russia's recent bombardment of Ukraine despite intensified diplomatic efforts to end the war.
He said that Russia seemed ready to use the current frontline as a basis for talks, rather than all the territory it claims to have annexed in southern and eastern Ukraine. Russia claims to have annexed areas that are still under Kyiv's control.
Merz said that there had not yet been detailed talks on what kind of territorial concessions Ukraine could make as part of a peace deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly ruled out ceding land to Russia.
US security guarantees 'on the table' in Ukraine — Merz
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the United States was ready to help provide "security guarantees" to Kyiv.
"Security guarantees are now on the table," he said in comments to Germany's ZDF public broadcaster.
"The good news is that the United States is ready to participate in such security guarantees [and] isn't leaving it to the Europeans," he said. "But the Europeans must also contribute."
Trump had in the past insisted that a US-Ukraine rare minerals deal would constitute sufficient security guarantees, an argument disputed by both Ukraine and European allies.
Merz insisted that there would be continued cooperation between Washington and European allies on Ukraine.
"Over the last few days, we have managed to keep the Europeans and Americans together," Merz stressed.
He said that US President Donald Trump had "extensively" informed Germany about his talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Merz added that the information went "far beyond" what was said in Putin and Trump's joint press conference on Friday.
Two die after car hits tree evading a police check
A 21-year-old driver and his female passenger of the same age died on Saturday when their car hit a tree while evading a police check in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Police officers had tried to stop the car in the south-western state, before it continued into the state of Saarland. There the vehicle veered off a country road near the town of Homburg, broke through the safety barrier and collided with a tree.
"Both occupants of the vehicle were fatally injured," a police spokesman said, adding that the police were not in the immediate vicinity at the time of the crash.
Four young people die in car crash in North Rhine-Westphalia
Four young people died in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday when a car driven by a 16-year-old careered off the road and hit a tree.
The driver was taken to hospital with serious injuries, a spokeswoman for the local authorities said.
The fatalities in the town of Kürten were two girls aged 14 and 16 and two 19-year-old men.
The car belonged to the parents of the driver, the spokeswoman said.
German politician proposes EU membership for Switzerland
German lawmaker Omid Nouripour has suggested that Switzerland could become a member of the European Union.
"The German government should offer Switzerland the opportunity to quickly deepen cooperation, up to turbo membership in the EU," Nouripour, who is vice president of the German lower house of parliament (the Bundestag), told the German DPA news agency.
"If our Swiss friends want to move closer to the European Union in light of new times, Germany should actively support this," he added.
US President Donald Trump has imposed a hefty 39% tariff on imports from Switzerland, far higher than the 15% tariff on most products from the EU.
Swiss economic associations have claimed this has put tens of thousands of jobs at risk.
With a population of 9 million, Switzerland relies heavily on exports, with the US being the most important market, accounting for 18% in 2024.
"For centuries, the Swiss have maintained a tradition of strict neutrality," said Nouripour. "However, the recent tariff dispute with Donald Trump painfully shows how vulnerable smaller states are when they are left to fend for themselves. Politically neutral, economically global — That no longer works in the new era."
"From a Swiss perspective, the EU may not be the best choice, but it is by far the more reliable one," he said.
For now, EU membership seems unlikely, with Switzerland's strongest party by votes, the right-wing populist Swiss People's Party (SVP), strictly against the notion.
Man arrested in Romania over child abuse at German water park
A 31-year-old man suspected of sexually abusing a 6-year-old girl at the Rulantica water park in Germany has been detained in Romania, police said in a statement.
"Following intensive police investigations, the 31-year-old suspect was arrested in Romania on Friday evening," the statement read.
"No further details about the arrest in Romania are available at this time," the statement added.
Authorities had been searching for the Romanian national via an international arrest warrant. He is accused of taking the child from the Rulantica water park in Rust, near the French border, into a nearby wooded area last Saturday and abusing her.
The man, who also lives in the region, allegedly left the child alone after the assault. She was discovered after being missing for around two hours.
Police said surveillance footage identified the suspect.
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