We must a sober look at the reality in order to choose the right path for our country, he says. He stresses that our freedom is under threat with growing sense of insecurity, with Germany's economic model also under pressure from a new form of protectionism. He also warns against political forces at home and abroad questioning social cohesion and undermining German democracy.
Voters in North Rhine-Westphalia headed to the polls on Sunday for municipal elections across the state. The poll is the first local election since Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May. The vote seen as a gauge of Merz's coalition government, which is made up of his conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the center-left SPD. The performance of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) which has been classified as "right-wing extremist" by the country's domestic intelligence agency, is a key factor for assessing Germany's political climate.
Infighting over the budget, the financing of social security benefits and climate protection projects led to the collapse of Germany's previous coalition government of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), environmentalist Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) in November 2024. Back then, Friedrich Merz was the opposition leader in the Bundestag federal parliament and took every opportunity to criticize the government for its quarrelling.
Stephan Brandner, parliamentary whip for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), criticized the number of staff for ex-chancellor Olaf Scholz, questioning the necessity of eight employees.
Germany's economic growth forecasts are negatively impacted by US tariffs, while diplomatic efforts among European leaders to pressure Russia regarding Ukraine show limited success in achieving a truce.