Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader Alice Weidel and Chancellor Friedrich Merz are facing each other in parliament
- The general debate comes days after the AfD’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt’s state election
- The result has increased pressure on Merz, who is being blamed by some in his conservative Christian Democratic Union for the party’s poor performance
Here is a roundup of top stories from and about Germany on Wednesday, September 9, 2026:
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Skip next section Attempted Leipzig airport drone attack planned in Russia, Merz says09/09/2026September 9, 2026
Attempted Leipzig airport drone attack planned in Russia, Merz says
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday that an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport had been prepared in Russia over a period of months and that a major disaster had only narrowly been avoided.
“This attack was planned in Russia for months and was specifically targeted at Germany, and only by pure chance was major material damage and harm to people prevented,” Merz told the Bundestag.
The alleged attack has become part of a broader debate in Germany over Russian hybrid threats and the country’s ability to protect critical infrastructure.
Merz made the remarks days after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the Saxony-Anhalt state election. The party has repeatedly called for closer relations with Moscow.
Russia has denied involvement in the Leipzig incident. Its foreign minister has described Germany’s accusations as “the start of a real war.”
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https://p.dw.com/p/5MJDySkip next section Merz blasts AfD’s ‘remigration’ policy09/09/2026September 9, 2026
Merz blasts AfD’s ‘remigration’ policy
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sharply attacked the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) over its migration policy during Wednesday’s Bundestag debate.
He described the party’s concept of “remigration” as “nothing other than ethnic cleansing based on skin color and origin.”
Merz said such a policy would also have severe consequences for Germany’s labor market, where many people with migrant backgrounds are employed.
“If things were to happen the way the AfD wants, the skilled trades in Germany could no longer function, not a single care home would be able to operate, not a single hospital would be able to operate, and not a single restaurant could be run,” Merz said.
“That would be the result of your remigration policy,” he told AfD lawmakers.
Merz said there was agreement within his governing coalition that many people without a right to remain permanently in Germany should be deported.
“But we distinguish carefully between those who work in Germany, who contribute to our prosperity, who are welcome in Germany, and those who do not have a permanent right to remain and who must leave our country again,” he said.
The government made that distinction carefully “in contrast” to the AfD, Merz added.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5MJ0eSkip next section Merz hits back at AfD after Saxony-Anhalt vote09/09/2026September 9, 2026
Merz hits back at AfD after Saxony-Anhalt vote
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the German parliament, the Bundestag, gave a barbed response to opening remarks from the far-right Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) co-leader Alice Weider, who lambasted Germany’s ruling coalition as a “failure.”
The Bundestag debate comes days after the AfD’s after its strong showing in the Saxony-Anhalt state election, warning the party against assuming it was on course for broader majorities.
“Ms Weidel, today you can barely contain yourself,” Merz told AfD co-leader Alice Weidel during the Bundestag’s general debate on Wednesday. “But you do not have an absolute majority, and you will not achieve one in Germany.”
“Nowhere in Germany will you win majorities with this politics,” Merz said. “You are, and you remain a destructive force.”
Merz acknowledged that the AfD had achieved “a remarkable election result in every respect” in Saxony-Anhalt.
“The voters spoke pretty clearly. They also sent us, and me personally, a clear message,” he said.
However, he stressed that the AfD had failed to achieve its stated goal of securing an absolute majority in the state parliament in Magdeburg.
Merz accused the AfD of showing “contempt for our democratic institutions” and of repeatedly denigrating representatives of the state.
“You are and will remain a destructive force,” Merz said.
He said there was a “deep divide” between the AfD and the other parties in foreign, European, social and peace policy.
Merz also accused the AfD of damaging German interests through its friendly stance towards Russia.
“The only thing that really threatens Russia and Putin is the appeal of democracy,” he said. “And yet you are obviously still standing on Russia’s side.”
“You are part of the problem we have in Germany — and we will resist that with everything at our disposal.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5MIwzSkip next section AfD’s Weidel says Merz coalition is ‘over’ after state vote09/09/2026September 9, 2026
AfD’s Weidel says Merz coalition is ‘over’ after state vote
Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), said Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s governing coalition had been rejected by voters after the AfD’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt.
Speaking in the Bundestag’s general debate in her first direct encounter with Merz since Sunday’s state election, Weidel said voters wanted a change of political direction rather than “more of the same.”
“The voters in Saxony-Anhalt have made it absolutely clear to you, in the language of democratic choice: black-red is over,” Weidel said, referring to the traditional party colors of the conservative CDU/CSU and center-left Social Democrats within the governing coalition.
Weidel also attacked the government’s fiscal policy, accusing Merz of pursuing unprecedented levels of borrowing.
She said Germany’s public finances had been “shattered” and accused the chancellor of leaving behind “scorched earth.”
“You are driving Germany towards national bankruptcy in record time,” Weidel said.
She described the government’s draft budget as a “declaration of surrender” by the coalition and claimed it was unconstitutional.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5MIhYSkip next section Welcome to our coverage09/09/2026September 9, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag from DW’s newsroom in Bonn.
The leaders of Germany’s two biggest political rivals are facing off in the Bundestag for a general debate supposed to focus on the government’s budget, but which has taken on added political significance days after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) beat the governing center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Saxony-Anhalt.
Stay with us here for these stories and more of what Germany is talking about today.
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