Olaf Scholz
German politician (SPD), ninth Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (2021–2025), Member of the Bundestag
Photo: Nebojša Tejić, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons, cropped)
- Oct 7
Germany blocks Chinese state shipping line Cosco from buying 80% stake in logistics firm Zippel
The German federal cabinet prohibited Chinese state-owned carrier Cosco from acquiring an 80% stake in Hamburg-based freight operator Zippel, citing supply chain resilience and national security concerns.
- Sep 22
Berlin SPD agrees to exploratory coalition talks with Die Linke and Greens
The unanimous decision by Berlin Social Democrats enables three-party discussions following Die Linke's election victory on 20 September 2026, despite sharp policy disagreements over security and housing.
- Sep 12
Germany Spent €50.4 Billion on Energy Crisis Relief Following Russian Gas Cuts
A Finance Ministry disclosure shows Germany spent 50.4 billion euros across 27 subsidy programs to shield consumers and companies after Russia halted natural gas supplies in 2022.
- Aug 7
ARD poll: AfD hits record 28% as Union slumps to 21%, government satisfaction at 13%
The AfD reaches 28 percent in the ARD-Deutschlandtrend, its highest ever, while the CDU/CSU falls to 21 percent and 85 percent of Germans express dissatisfaction with the federal government.
- Jul 23
Merz reshuffles cabinet as CDU rebellion exposes chancellor's weakened grip
Chancellor Friedrich Merz replaced his transport and health ministers and installed a new parliamentary group leader after an 11-day reshuffle, but open criticism from senior CDU figures and a new pension row with eastern state premiers left his authority badly dented.
- Jul 9
Germany to buy US Tomahawk cruise missiles after NATO summit deal, closing a strategic gap in European defence
Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the purchase on 9 July, a day after the NATO summit in Ankara, as Washington pushes Europeans to pay for their own security.
- Jun 30
Angela Merkel unveils official portrait with a surprising absence: her signature hand gesture
Five years after leaving office, Angela Merkel finally unveiled her official chancellor portrait, painted by a previously unknown 28-year-old artist, and conspicuously missing the 'Merkel-Raute' hand gesture she was famous for.
- Jun 29
Germany delays 'humanitarian gesture' for Polish Nazi victims as 1,000 die each month
Berlin has yet to approve a concrete Polish proposal for annual compensation to some 50,000 surviving victims of Nazi occupation, despite a December pledge by Chancellor Friedrich Merz to act on his government’s historical responsibility. Critics call the inaction a 'disgrace' as around 1,000 elderly victims die each month while the plan remains stuck in inter-ministerial talks.
- Jun 26
Magdeburg Christmas market attacker sentenced to life in prison for 2024 rampage that killed six
A German court convicted Saudi psychiatrist Taleb al-Abdulmohsen of murder on Friday and sentenced him to life in prison for driving a rented BMW into a crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg in December 2024, a rampage that killed six people and injured hundreds.
- Jun 19
German court sentences far-right extremist to three years for Darknet death lists targeting Merkel and Scholz
The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court found the 50-year-old guilty of terrorist financing and instructing in bomb-making after he ran a platform calling for the murder of public figures.
- Jun 6
Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim slash German investments after Berlin pushes health reform savings
Eli Lilly halved its Alzey plant investment and Boehringer Ingelheim scrapped €900 million in planned spending, both citing Berlin's proposed health reform as the trigger.
- May 30
FDP wählt Wolfgang Kubicki zum neuen Vorsitzenden – 74-Jähriger setzt sich in Kampfabstimmung gegen Strack-Zimmermann durch
Wolfgang Kubicki has been elected as the new federal chairman of Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP), defeating Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann in a surprise contested vote at the party's federal congress in Berlin.
- May 28
Yad Vashem to Open First-Ever International Education Center in Munich, with Satellite in Leipzig
Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial has chosen Munich as the site for its first educational center outside Israel, with a smaller branch in Leipzig, in a move to combat rising global antisemitism.
