Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Foreign Minister Wadephul said Berlin ‘fully supports’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- The gesture of solidarity came in response to Donald Trump’s calls for new leadership in Ukraine
- Friedrich Merz’s CDU gathers for leadership meeting addressing electoral free fall
- The German government has said it will continue working with EU partners on Russia sanctions
- Ex-Chancellor Schröder faces criticism for attending Putin’s birthday
Read below for a roundup of top stories from and about Germany on Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11.
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Skip next section Deutsche Bank CEO: Political extremism putting off foreign investors10/11/2026October 11, 2026
Deutsche Bank CEO: Political extremism putting off foreign investors
Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest, warned that the growing strength of both the far right and the far left is spooking foreign investors.
Sewing told the tabloid Bild that recent election victories for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and post-communist Left Party “pose a significant risk for Germany and should not be downplayed.”
The Deutsche Bank boss said it mattered little that the elections were on the state and local level. “You can’t expect a foreign investor to immediately draw a distinction between a state government and Germany as a whole,” he said.
“It’s seen as Germany as a whole and I think that from an investor’s point of view, that’s understandable.”
Some economists say the AfD is creating an atmosphere that will drive away much needed skilled labor as well as foreign investors.
The Left Party, meanwhile, won victory in Berlin promising to expropriate residential property companies’ holdings to lower housing costs in the German capital.
“Whether it’s Saxony-Anhalt with the AfD or what’s happening here in Berlin,” said Sewing, “it’s anything but conducive to economic growth. And it’s anything but investment-friendly.”
Sewing said Chancellor Friedrich Merz must get on with carrying out reforms and reviving the economy, saying, “That is the only response we have to the far-right and far-left extremists in this country.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5O8ZQSkip next section Foreign Minister Wadephul: ‘Germany fully supports’ Zelenskyy 10/11/2026October 11, 2026
Foreign Minister Wadephul: ‘Germany fully supports’ Zelenskyy
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Sunday made clear that Berlin stands with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, rejecting US President Donald Trump’s calls for his replacement.
Germany will “fully support the president as he carries out his difficult duties,” said Wadephul at his party’s two-day CDU leadership conference.
On Friday, after a long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump announced a deal that would see sanctions on Russia eased dramatically and allow Moscow to export millions of barrels of diesel, thus pumping much needed cash into Russia’s economy.
On Saturday, Trump called for Zelenskyy’s removal and again sought to pin blame on the Ukrainian president — not his own Iran war — for high global oil prices.
Germany is the biggest EU donor to Ukraine, and an advocate for tighter sanctions and increased pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine.
Berlin responded to Trump’s oil scheme by stating that it would not be lifting any Russian sanctions.
On Sunday, Wadephul responded to the second point, making the case for “consistency and clarity” in terms of support for Ukraine.
“We don’t need less pressure on Putin to force him to negotiate,” said the German diplomat. “We need more,” he added. “That is what this moment requires and that’s what this government stands for.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5O8XUSkip next section Merz’s CDU huddles to find way out of electoral free fall10/11/2026October 11, 2026
Merz’s CDU huddles to find way out of electoral free fall
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz‘s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) will kick off a two-day leadership meeting on Sunday to plot a path out of the electoral crisis the party finds itself in after three dismal state elections.
The 25-member leadership meeting was called after the CDU — until now one of Germany’s two largest popular parties — failed to even clear the 5% hurdle to enter Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s state legislature. The stinging loss, which Merz himself described as “a disaster,” represented the first time in the party’s history that it was booted from a statehouse.
The CDU has been struggling to hold off the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and has been thrust into an identity crisis due to the rate at which it is losing voters to the party.
In one of the summer’s other elections — in Saxony-Anhalt — the CDU dropped nearly 20 percentage points, getting clobbered by the AfD, which racked up over 40% of the vote.
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This weekend’s meeting is designed to address voter dissatisfaction with the CDU-led governing coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD), as well as looking at possible long-term solutions to the party’s electoral death spiral.
Faced with this new electoral reality, leaders will reportedly look at the potential policy consequences of the party’s losses, reconsidering whether to push on with much-needed reforms to the healthcare and retirement systems, for instance.
Party leaders will also grapple with the fundamental question of how to deal with the AfD in the long run, namely, whether to maintain the party’s “firewall” policy rejecting any cooperation or to work with the anti-immigrant rightwing populists in hopes of remaining relevant.
Speaking with Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper ahead of the pow-wow, Hesse State Premier Boris Rhein said leadership, “has to deal with all of the issues that are important to everyday citizens: Cost of living, security, immigration and jobs.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5O7zzSkip next section This blog is on pause10/11/2026October 11, 2026
This blog is on pause
We are pausing our coverage for now. Join us again on Sunday morning for more coverage of the German news and analysis.
https://p.dw.com/p/5O7a3Skip next section Germany rejects proposed EU budget, calls for greater cuts10/10/2026October 10, 2026
Germany rejects proposed EU budget, calls for greater cuts
Germany swiftly rejected a proposed new budget for the European Union that was put forward on Saturday.
Ireland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, put forward a budget of €1.826 trillion ($2.046 trillion) for the next seven years — a reduction of around €159 billion compared to the European Commission’s original proposal of nearly €1.985 trillion.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the budget cuts should go further.
“The size of the new proposal is no basis for an agreement,” Merz said.
“The EU budget must be affordable for those who bear the main burden of financing,” he added.
Germany is the largest net contributor to the EU budget. It and other net contributors including the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Finland all want the next budget to be slashed by hundreds of billions of euros.
But the second-largest net contributor to the EU budget, France, has instead argued that the 27-member bloc needs a more generous budget in order to overcome new challenges.
https://p.dw.com/p/5O7DzSkip next section ‘Ragebait’ named Germany’s 2026 Youth Word of the Year10/10/2026October 10, 2026
‘Ragebait’ named Germany’s 2026 Youth Word of the Year
The Langenscheidt publishing house on Saturday named “ragebait” as Germany’s 2026 Youth Word of the Year during the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Ragebait is social media content designed to draw people in by making them angry with provocative claims, lies, or outrageous opinions, thereby driving up clicks and interactions.
Langenscheidt, Germany’s best-selling dictionary publisher, organized an online poll with 1 million young people taking part in this year’s competition.
Ragebait took 36.5% of the vote, with runners-up including the terms “peak,” meaning the best of the best, and “crashout,” meaning when someone loses their cool.
https://p.dw.com/p/5O748Skip next section Germany ‘committed’ to further Russia sanctions10/10/2026October 10, 2026
Germany ‘committed’ to further Russia sanctions
Germany on Saturday said it would continue pursuing sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, coming a day after US President Donald Trump announced a temporary US sanctions reprieve on Russian diesel.
“The federal government has taken note of the US decision relating to Russian diesel deliveries,” government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said in a statement.
“The federal government remains committed to the decisions on sanctions against Russia and is working with its European partners on further sanctions,” the statement added.
Germany’s “support for Ukraine in its struggle to defend itself remains unfailing … Diplomatic efforts for a peaceful solution continue,” he added.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has been subject to round after round of sanctions packages led by the US and EU.
Russian crude and other oil products have been subject to EU sanctions since 2023, and Germany has not imported any oil or oil products from Russia since then.
A spokesperson for Economic Affairs Minister Katherina Reiche said Saturday that “Germany stands fully behind the sanctions packages.”
“Our supply is diversified in this area; we are independent of Russian oil,” the spokesperson said.
Germany remains Ukraine’s largest financial backer in Europe. During a visit to Kyiv last weekend, Chancellor Friedrich Merz reiterated Germany’s unwavering support for Ukraine.
In what amounts to a major reversal in US policy, Trump on Friday said he would temporarily lift US sanctions to allow Russia to “immediately” supply over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to US and global markets.
The move comes as diesel prices reach record levels after the war in Iran launched by the US and Israel sent diesel prices skyrocketing around the world. In the US, the high prices are putting political pressure on Trump’s Republicans ahead of the midterm elections in November.
However, despite Trump’s claims on social media, it remains unclear how much Russian fuel will reach global markets amid domestic fuel shortages as Ukraine continues to target refineries.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5O6pbSkip next section Ex-Chancellor Schröder criticized for Putin birthday visit 10/10/2026October 10, 2026
Ex-Chancellor Schröder criticized for Putin birthday visit
The appearance of Germany’s Russia-friendly former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder at President Vladimir Putin’s birthday party earlier this week has drawn criticism in Germany.
Franziska Brantner, the co-leader of Germany’s Green party, called on Schröder’s Social Democrats (SPD) to revisit revoking Schröder’s party membership.
“Russia is now even attacking us in Germany with hybrid attacks. Schröder hasn’t learned anything from this. A new approach needs to be put on the table,” she told the Tagesspiegel newspaper.
“Schröder is celebrating Putin’s birthday with him, while civilians in Ukraine are once again dying as a result of Russian attacks. This is politically unacceptable,” said Brantner.
Anything less than expulsion from the party would be “a disastrous signal, not only to Ukraine but also to the people and their safety in our country,” Brantner added.
The SPD’s Hubertus Heil, who served as Germany’s labor minister from 2018 to 2025, also criticized Schröder.
“The warm embrace between Schröder and Putin in Moscow deeply outrages and disturbs me,” Heil told the Tagesspiegel.
Celebrating with a “dictator” whose “murderous imperialism causes horrific suffering every day” is “unjustifiable under any circumstances,” he said.
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Putin celebrated his 74th birthday in Moscow on Wednesday. The Kremlin said Putin learned that Schröder was on a business trip in the Russian capital via Russian media reports.
“The president invited his old friend to his home,” the Kremlin said, with the Russian government releasing pictures of Schröder and Putin smiling and clasping hands,
Schröder’s business and personal ties to Russia have drawn controversy since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Schröder’s tax-payer financed Berlin office was closed in 2022 over his involvement in the Russian energy sector, but he fended off calls at the time by fellow party members to be expelled from the SPD.
https://p.dw.com/p/5O72jSkip next section Welcome to our coverage10/10/2026October 10, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag from Bonn.
The German government said European sanctions on Russia will continune unabated after the Trump administration paused US sanctions on Russian diesel yesterday.
And Germany’s former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is under fire after attending Vladimir Putin’s birthday in Moscow.
Read on for this and more.
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