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Germany news: Gas reserves historically low ahead of winter
Merkel's 'heart bleeds' after AfD win in Saxony-Anhalt
Mark Hallam | Jon Shelton with AFP, dpa, ReutersPublished 09/08/2026Published September 8, 2026last updated 09/09/2026last updated September 9, 2026Former Chancellor Angela Merkel called the results in Saxony-Anhalt "simply shocking," and warned of the dangers of feelings trumping facts. The latest PISA education test scores also have Germany reeling.
https://p.dw.com/p/5M7YWWhat you need to know
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Below, you can review top headlines from across Germany from Tuesday, September 8:
- Former Chancellor Angela Merkel says her 'heart bleeds' to see the AfD's rise and the CDU's fall in Saxony-Anhalt's vote on Sunday
- German students score poorly in the latest PISA international academic assessment, prompting political soul-searching
- The government plans to send more Patriot missiles to Ukraine to try to fend off Russian air attacks
- A German lobby group says gas reserves are at historically low levels and could run out in the event of a cold winter
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Skip next section US President Trump lauds AfD's 'big night'09/09/2026September 9, 2026US President Trump lauds AfD's 'big night'
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called out the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, writing on social media, "The Populist Party in Germany just had a really big night."
He went on to write that the party's win was due to voters' discontent with German immigration laws, which he called "horrible."
In a slight change from his typical sign-off of "MAGA," or "Make America Great Again," Trump closed the post with a call to "MGGA!!!" or "Make Germany Great Again."
Why MAGA supports Germany's rise of the far-right
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https://p.dw.com/p/5MIALSkip next section German economy frets about Saxony-Anhalt election results09/09/2026September 9, 2026German economy frets about Saxony-Anhalt election results
The AfD won the election in Saxony-Anhalt state by a wide margin.
While politicians and election analysts are still debating the reasons for the far-right party's popularity, economists are sounding the alarm.
Read more about what they have to say in this article by Dirk Kaufmann
https://p.dw.com/p/5MI95Skip next section Cologne: Thousands march in protest against AfD09/08/2026September 8, 2026Cologne: Thousands march in protest against AfD
Police estimate that around 9,000 people attended a demonstration against the far-right in central Cologne on Tuesday.
It was held under the motto "Stop right-wing extremism in Saxony-Anhalt and everywhere — strengthen democracy!" and was organized by an alliance of different groups following Sunday's election in the eastern sate.
The group, whose name could loosely translate as "Cologne is putting its foot down," said it wanted to provide people with a space in which to react, protest and analyze Sunday's results.
"Because in such a situation, when far-right extremists in Germany could come to power in a federal state for the first time, we as democrats want to and must raise our voices loud and clear," the group said, referring to post-war Germany.
The protesters carried various critical banners and slogans as they gathered around the Heumarkt marketplace in the city center near the Deutzer Brücke bridge across the Rhine River.
Cologne: Mother and daughter convicted of plotting to kill daughter's husband
A court in Cologne has convicted a 36-year-old woman and her 62-year-old mother to four-and-a-half years each in prison for trying to arrange the murder of the younger woman's husband. The verdict can be appealed.
They hatched the alleged plot amid a difficult breakup and custody battle over the couple's son.
The case revolved around alleged attempts to arrange the murder last September. At the time both the mother and the man were in Mallorca.
The court said that the woman had sought contact with a restaurant owner, asking if he knew anybody who would be prepared to kill her son-in-law.
The man answered in the affirmative but "only as a sham," as the court put it. A fee of €5,000 (roughly $5,800) was agreed for the supposed middleman, with the woman paying €1,000 up front. She gave him photos of the target and his residential address.
The restaurant owner then recorded their follow-up meeting, both to warn the target and to gather evidence, the judge said. One comment in this recording — "I want to see him dead" — was mentioned in particular by the judge as evidence of the desire to kill and not just to arrange a beating, as the defendants at one point asserted.
The court considered the younger woman's complicity proven because of the contents of extensive chat communications between her and her mother.
"She was more or less there in real time," the judge said.
https://p.dw.com/p/5MHpNSkip next section Merkel says her 'heart bleeds' as CDU politician to see AfD win in former East09/08/2026September 8, 2026Merkel says her 'heart bleeds' as CDU politician to see AfD win in former East
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel made a comparatively rare public appearance at Deutsche Telekom's Digital X trade fair in Cologne on Tuesday.
Asked about Sunday's election in Saxony-Anhalt, Merkel said the result was "simply shocking."
Although the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) had long been expected to fare well in the state election, it did slightly better than anticipated while Merkel's party the Christian Democrats (CDU) fell even further than expected.
"As a CDU member my heart bleeds," Merkel said of the result in the one of the states from former communist East Germany, where she grew up. "This is a cut, a real cut in modern German history that we're experiencing."
Merkel, chancellor from 2005 to 2021, advised politicians to reassess their communication strategies, saying that "individually addressing citizens" by various means was becoming more and more important in politics.
She also voiced alarm at what she thought was voters placing less value on facts and more on their feelings.
As an example, she cited what she said was factually accurate claims of unemployment numbers falling in Saxony-Anhalt and individual wellbeing levels rising, but said "and then the leading candidate [of the AfD, Ulrich Siegmund] comes along and says 'maybe, but it doesn't feel like that.'"
Merkel said that such attitudes could not be allowed to permeate society as a whole:
"The main progress of the enlightenment was that the majority of people could agree on facts," she said. Should feelings ever claim the upper hand against facts that would constitute civilizational regression, she said.
Renewables accounted for almost 60% of German electricity production in first half of year
The share of German electricity generated using renewable sources continues to gradually climb.
Figures published on Tuesday by the Destatis federal statistics office said that 59.1% of electricity generated in Germany hailed from renewable sources in the first half of 2026. That's a slight increase on 58.0% in the first half of 2025.
Overall electricity generation was also up by 4.5% year-on-year during the six-month period.
Wind remains Germany's largest renewable electricity source, at 29.4% of the national total. It's also the fastest-growing power source. Solar power accounts for 17.8% and biogas for 5.8%, with smaller shares from hydroelectric power and other renewable sources.
Destatis said the large boost in wind power generation was not attributable to major changes in capacity but rather to weather fluctuations.
"In long-term comparisons the wind power electricity generation for the first half of 2026 was in line with averages, the prime cause for the considerable increase compared to the previous year was a first quarter of 2025 with unusually light winds," the agency said.
The largest conventional electricity contributor is coal — albeit with the share falling compared to last year's figures — at 21.4%, with natural gas accounting for 16.5%. Despite government plans to gradually shutter coal plants, for now it remains the country's second largest source of power.
Germany shut down its nuclear power plants in recent years after a political back-and-forth lasting decades.
The country's ovrall electricity deficit shrank markedly in the first half of the year. Germany's net electricity import total, after subtracting its exports, only stood at 0.6 billion kilowatt hours — compared to 8.3 billion kilowatt hours in the first half of 2025.
Wind power — controversial but indispensable?
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https://p.dw.com/p/5MHddSkip next section In pictures: Vote for Germany's 2027 bird of the year opens online 09/08/2026September 8, 2026In pictures: Vote for Germany's 2027 bird of the year opens online
Voting for Germany's 2027 bird of the year has begun, in an annual competition organized by the Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) and Bavaria's LBV bird and nature protection agency.
Two of the five candidates are considered endangered, the house martin or Mehlschwalbe and the western pied flycatcher or Trauerschnäpper.
But the other three hopefuls looking to unseat the 2026 winner, the common partridge or Rebhuhn, are not currently on protected lists in Germany.
As well as the northern raven or Kolkrabe, the Eurasian crane or Kranich and the common or white-breasted dipper or Wasseramsel have both made the 2027 shortlist.
Voting is open until October 15, and if there's any geoblocking involved, it's not immediately apparent on the website, so any readers from further afield with strong avian opinions might as well give it a shot!
Germany to send more Patriot missiles to Ukraine
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius says Berlin will provide Ukraine with additional interceptor missiles from Bundeswehr stocks as Kyiv seeks to bolster its defenses against Russian aerial attacks.
"I decided to deliver urgently needed PAC-2 interceptor missiles from Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine," Pistorius told a video meeting of defense ministers from countries supporting Kyiv.
He also urged other Ukraine backers to examine their own inventories and consider similar deliveries.
Pistorius said Germany would also increase supplies of air-to-air missiles and continue providing drones and long-range ammunition to Ukraine.
Unpacking Germany's secret ballistic missile test
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https://p.dw.com/p/5MGxvSkip next section Hotel fire alarms disturb teams at Berlin women's basketball World Cup 09/08/2026September 8, 2026Hotel fire alarms disturb teams at Berlin women's basketball World Cup
For the second time in a matter of days, a morning fire alarm has interrupted the rhythm of teams competing in the women's basketball World Cup in Berlin.
The fire alarm went off around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, forcing hotel guests to wait outside for around half an hour until the all-clear was given.
A similar situation led to the hotel being emptied much earlier in the morning on Sunday.
All the teams are staying at the same hotel, except for the star-studded favorites from the US, who made their own accommodation arrangements on rather different budgets to many of the competitors.
The tournament is headed into its crucial phases and involves a hectic schedule.
Germany's national team, for instance, played its last group game against Mali on Monday, and will be in action on Tuesday once more in the play-in round, taking on South Korea in a bid to reach the quarterfinals.
There's no known sign or suspicion of foul play or horseplay so far.
The knockout rounds of the competition continue throughout the week, culimating in the third-place playoff and then the final on Sunday.
https://p.dw.com/p/5MGx0Skip next section PISA study reactions: Education Minister Prien says widening social divide 'not acceptable' 09/08/2026September 8, 2026PISA study reactions: Education Minister Prien says widening social divide 'not acceptable'
Saim Dušan Inayatullah EditorPoliticians of all stripes are responding with alarm after Germany's poor performance in the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, study.
It has always been a sore political topic in Germany — a country that prides itself on its school and university system — ever since it was first held in 2000 and Germany placed below the average of the then-31 countries assessed.
Education Minister Karin Prien, a Christian Democrat, said it was "not acceptable" that the "social divide is widening further and not closing."
She said it was "nothing new" that there were large gaps in competence between the socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged, but said that signs of this gap widening were "extraordinarily unsettling." She said an array of steps were needed at the state and federal levels, including more early-years assistance, putting resources "where they are particularly required," and "swift action" on things like age limits for online activity by minors.
The Social Democrats (SPD), junior partners in the federal coalition, called for an emergency meeting of federal, state and municipal authorities. Germany's schooling system, like its policing and many other public services, is federalized and varies from state to state.
The SPD's Dagmar Schmidt told the DPA news agency that the party "now expects Education Minister Karin Prien to take the initiative," and said that "federalized education cannot be an excuse for stagnation."
Meanwhile, the German government's integration commissioner, Natalie Pawlik, said the results showed the need for a compulsory year in group education prior to the start of elementary school.
"Language skills and social competences are two key preconditions for daily school life," Pawlik said. An obligatory year in group classes could help children in families with migrant backgrounds meet these standards, she said.
The opposition Greens said the results showed "how unjustly opportunities are divided within our education system," calling for more investment in daycares in particular. The socialist Left Party called the results "the check for years of failure in education policy."
You can read more about this year's PISA results from Elizabeth Grenier on our culture desk here.
Filling the gap when Germany's school system fails
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https://p.dw.com/p/5MGk1Skip next section Budget battle: Long-term investment plan? Or ruinous debt trap? 09/08/2026September 8, 2026Budget battle: Long-term investment plan? Or ruinous debt trap?
German parliamentarians began debate on the country's 2027 budget on Tuesday, with Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil of the SPD defending what he called "painful compromises" as opposition parties railed against new debt.
"My vision is a Germany of the future that is sovereign and resilient in times of crisis. A strong country that is innovative and also socially just," said Klingbeil.
Since taking office in mid-2025, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government has ratcheted expenditures to record levels in an effort to revive a flagging economy and rearm Germany's military. The draft 2027 budget provides for spending of €555.4 billion ($645 billion), up slightly from 2026.
Total new borrowing is set to exceed €200 billion.
The government has earmarked €118 billion for investments in AI, data centers, research and development, rail, bridges and tunnels, as well as hospitals and schools. Opposition parties universally criticized the new spending, a clear departure from years of tight budgets that hewed to the sacrosanct "black zero," meaning zero debt.
Now, the Merz government is on track to rack up roughly €1 trillion in debt by the end of its term, something the Left Party's Dietmar Bartsch called "madness."
The Greens and the AfD also accused Klingbeil of using "unconstitutional accounting tricks" to get around debt rules.
Klingbeil argued the country had no other choice but to incur debt if it planned on defending itself, noting that infrastructure in the country had also been sorely under-financed over the years as well.
The budget will come up for a vote in November and many changes are expected over the next several weeks.
https://p.dw.com/p/5MDS8Skip next section READ: Police arrest suspect in power grid sabotage case09/08/2026September 8, 2026READ: Police arrest suspect in power grid sabotage case
German police arrest suspect in power grid sabotage case — reports
https://p.dw.com/p/5MA2VSkip next section Protester shot in face with airgun at anti-AfD rally09/08/2026September 8, 2026Protester shot in face with airgun at anti-AfD rally
A protester was shot in the face with an airgun at an anti-AfD rally in the eastern German city of Halle late Monday according to a police statement issued on Tuesday morning.
The incident occurred at the end of a march attended by roughly 850 people and authorities say the 25-year-old was not seriously injured.
Police secured evidence at the scene and searched two nearby apartment buildings, though a perpetrator has yet to be identified.
An investigation into the incident has been opened.
https://p.dw.com/p/5M9G1Skip next section German pop singer Xavier Naidoo to be tried for incitement09/08/2026September 8, 2026German pop singer Xavier Naidoo to be tried for incitement
Xavier Naidoo, a German pop singer, will face trial for incitement in an incident involving public antisemitic insults directed at a member of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation — which bills itself as an independent NGO dedicated to strengthening democratic civil society and combating neo-Nazism, right-wing extremism, antisemitism, racism and other forms of bigotry and hate in Germany.
On Monday, a state court in the city of Mannheim, where the musician was born, announced that it would allow state prosecutors to take their case against Naidoo to trial.
Prosecutors sought to bring charges against the celebrity in separate cases in 2023 and 2024, which the court previously rejected for lack of evidence. Prosecutors have lodged a complaint with the Higher Regional Court in Karlsruhe to force the lower court to hear their case on further points.
Monday's decision regards one charge brought in 2023. No trial date has been set.
A popular figure in Germany in the 2000s, Naidoo later made headlines for espousing conspiracy theories, railing against Coronavirus safety measures and hurling antisemitic insults.
In 2021, Germany's top court ruled that Naidoo could be referred to as an antisemite for his song texts.
In 2022, he released a video statement apologizing for the "many mistakes" he had made over the years, including for "troubling statements," saying he regretted having ever made them.
https://p.dw.com/p/5M8rJSkip next section Germany's exports lose momentum09/08/2026September 8, 2026Germany's exports lose momentum
Emilio ReynosoGermany's exports were down for the first time in months, the German Federal Statistical Office has confirmed.
For the first time since January, German exports fell by 0.8% due to lower demand from Europe and China.
Germany's shipments to China dropped by 9.5%, while exports to the Eurozone declined by 2.8%. Meanwhile, exports to the United States increased by 19%, continuing a slow recovery following President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Industrial production also declined in July, adding to growing concerns about fuel supplies in the country.
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