The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is known for its strength in the east of the country, but its popularity in Western Germany is also only growing, including in the country’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia.
This latest Forsa poll points to incredible growth of the AfD in a very short time in the voter-rich Western German state. It is now the most popular party in the entire state when measuring a national vote and would earn 24 percent of the vote.
Meanwhile, the Christian Democrats (CDU) fell four points to 22 percent, the lowest value Forsa has ever recorded for the party in the state. The previous low was 23 percent in December 2021.
However, in order to avoid confusion, it must be noted that the Forsa poll asked two very distinct questions. One question asked voters in North Rhine-Westphalia how they would vote at the federal level and also how they would vote at the state level.
At the state level, voters in North Rhine-Westphalia would still back the CDU over the AfD; however, the CDU’s advantage over the AfD has narrowed to just seven percentage points ahead of the April state election.
The latest figures show that if a state election were held this Sunday, the CDU under Wüst would receive 29 percent, down from 32 percent in Forsa’s April survey. The AfD has risen two points to 22 percent. The gap between the two parties has therefore fallen from 12 to seven points in just a few months.
About a year ago, however, the lead was far larger, at 22 percentage points. In July 2025, 38 percent of respondents favored the CDU while the AfD stood at a mere 16 percent.
While this may be of some consolation to Wüst that he is still more popular than the CDU federal branch, the fact that the AfD is now leading in the state at the federal level represents a massive sea change in German politics.
North Rhine-Westphalia is one of the most diverse of all of Germany — outside of the city-states like Berlin — featuring 35 to 38 percent of the population with a migration background. It is also a state with numerous industries hit hard by Germany’s ongoing economic downturn.
The three recent state elections in eastern Germany have become a “turning point” for the CDU after a sharp setback in Saxony-Anhalt, the party’s failure to enter the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern two weeks later, and disappointing results in Berlin. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he was “deeply shocked” about the vote in Saxony-Anhalt and spoke of consequences. He also noted that he took responsibility for the election outcomes but would not resign the chancellorship or his role as chairman of the CDU party.
The question now is whether widespread dissatisfaction with Merz will continue to weaken the CDU’s prospects across Germany.
This is an article about China’s booming automobile industry and Germany’s declining automobile industry, but in reality, it is really a story about how anti-immigration China increasingly dominates the open borders, multicultural West.
That is not the typical way to open an article in our modern Western press, but this framing is entirely accurate, fair, and a reflection of reality.
For one, we need to stop trying to understand China entirely through the lens of “communism” or “authoritarianism.” Whether it is Bloomberg, Spiegel, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, or the Guardian, all of these media megaphones endlessly gloss over a core reality: China is an ethnostate that exists to advance the interest of the Han Chinese people.
Not only is China incredibly successful in this regard, but there is nothing inherently wrong in pursuing this goal. In fact, it not only accounts for China’s increasing strength, but also accounts for the economic success of a range of Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, all of which feature stringent anti-immigration policies that ensure ethnic and cultural homogeneity.
The latest data from Germany’s automobile industry only adds to the growing body of evidence that despite years of diversity and mass immigration, Germany is failing. The data shows that China has now become Germany’s largest supplier of new passenger cars after imports from China more than doubled in the first seven months of 2026, official figures show.
The surge in Chinese vehicles is the main driver behind a sharp rise in overall car imports. Notably, at the same time, German exports declined.
This is far from the only data point. Remix News has been running an ongoing series comparing Western countries like Germany that have tied their economic fortunes to mass immigration to anti-immigration Asian countries (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, and part 6). Once again, the latest figures prove that despite claims that immigration has made the German economy stronger, the reality is that Asian countries are proving this baseless claim wrong many times over.
Between January and July, 175,000 new passenger cars arrived from China in Germany, 13.8 percent of all imports and 120.9 percent more than in the same period a year earlier. That leap pushed China ahead of other importers, including the Czech Republic which sent 173,000 cars and Spain with 157,000 cars. A year earlier, China had ranked only fourth among supplier countries.
At the same time, German exports of new passenger cars fell. Around 2 million vehicles left the country, 4 percent fewer than a year earlier. Their value dropped 8.9 percent to €73.5 billion.
Many German leftists and even those in the Christian Democrats (CDU) claim the German economy would fall apart without immigrants. However, China and other Asian countries provide a sharp contrast to this ideological and factually unsound narrative. Instead, these Asian countries sharply rejected mass immigration and turned to innovation, automation, and investment in research and development. At the same time, Asian countries are known for their stringent and in-depth education systems designed for the benefit of their own native populations.
The result is that these Asian nations have now soared ahead of languishing European economies that chose open borders and foreign workforces, which often fueled illusory GDP growth resembling a pyramid scheme based entirely on rising populations rather than true innovation and productivity growth.
In key industries, including automobile production, machine tools, chemical production, and renewable energy, China and other anti-immigration Asian countries are leapfrogging ahead. This is all on top of China’s chokehold on rare earth metals, which theoretically could allow China to shut down production of Western weapons, automobiles, and renewable energy, just to name a few sectors.
Europe relies on protectionism to block superior and cost-effective Chinese technology
In terms of automobile exports to Europe, China’s growth has to be put in context. The reality is that China would be on the verge of bankrupting or overtaking nearly every European automobile company if it was not for extreme protectionism.
China’s growth in Europe is mostly coming from hybrid vehicles, as EU tariffs on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) can go as high as 45 percent. On the other hand, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) only face the standard 10 percent duty.
Without these tariffs on BEVs, the European EV automobile market would collapse due to Chinese competition. Despite these barriers, more and more Chinese vehicles are making their way into the European market. China is simply far too innovative in nearly every aspect of EV production. China is also building battery production plants within Europe because the Europeans can no longer do it themselves. Even top automobile executives, whether in the United States or Europe, admit they are years behind China.
European automakers are so far behind that they rely on batteries, which are by far the most expensive and vital components of any electric vehicle, almost exclusively from China. China accounts for over 80 percent of global battery cell production and supplies a major share of the cells and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry used in European-branded electric vehicles. There are other players, however, these also include immigration-restrictionist nations like South Korea and Japan.
Europe is now racing to place tariffs on PHEVs as well, as European automaker CEOs beg for relief. However, these same European automakers would have no electric vehicle market at all if they were cut off from Chinese batteries.
For those who do not want to read long treatises on the dominance of Chinese automakers, there are also plenty of video formats available that explore this topic. This video from “Modern MBA” is just one that illustrates just how far ahead Chinese auto manufacturers are in terms of innovation and development. This dominance is not down to cheap labor either or even government subsidies. At its heart, this dominance is about the engineering talent and technological leapfrogging Chinese automakers have managed to achieve in an extremely short time.
Diversity has not benefited the West
It seems as Europe becomes more “diverse,” it also falls farther and farther behind in terms of industrial strength, with the automobile industry perhaps one of the most glaring examples. However, this basic claim undersells just how far European industry has fallen in comparison to China.
China, with its anti-immigration policies, has ascended into the modern age and pulled ahead in key modern industries on a scale that is unprecedented in world history. Just like many other modern Asian nations that pursue similar anti-immigration policies, instead of relying on waves of cheap foreign labor, China continues to automate and innovate around its falling population through robotics, engineering and artificial intelligence.
If White European countries pursued similar policies as their Asian counterparts, these same Western news outlets that dominate the West would endlessly berate them as racists, Nazis, and xenophobes. There is some occasional sniping at the immigration policies of these Asian countries, yet this central and core policy of maintaining ethnic homogeneity is more or less ignored.
For one, these countries are not White, so mostly White journalists do not know how to approach this topic.
However, there is another reason and it is perhaps more important.
If these same journalists continuously attacked the Asian tigers on a daily basis for being racist and xenophobic — while still complaining that they are continuously more successful in terms of education, innovation, and economics — then their Western liberal audiences might begin to second-guess their own open-borders policies.
It could also be possible that Western liberal audiences are not actually as smart as they think they are, and they will forever fail to make this connection.
Nevertheless, on a fundamental level, these Asian countries represent a core threat to the open-borders vision that has been relentlessly promoted among Western countries.
The reality is the Western world is confronted daily with the failures of diversity and multiculturalism.
The other reality is that we are ruled by elites, business executives, and an ideologically captured populace that not only refuses to acknowledge this despite facts, figures, data, and real-world experience. In fact, those who point all of this out are facing persecution, censorship, and even imprisonment.
Essen-based chemical group Evonik plans to cut 3,200 jobs worldwide, including 2,150 in Germany, and is looking to put new money into Asia and the United States instead.
Interim chief Claus Rettig said management, the supervisory board and employee representatives were aligned on the diagnosis. “The board of directors, supervisory board and employee representatives share a conviction: We are in a structural and economic crisis of our industry,” Rettig announced.
Two-thirds of the planned cuts fall in Germany. Evonik employed more than 31,000 people worldwide at the end of 2025, according to German news outlet Tagesschau. Existing savings and efficiency programs are already expected to remove about 2,800 jobs by the end of this year. The additional wave is scheduled through the end of 2029 and is to be carried out “in a socially responsible manner” through early retirements, severance payments and leaving vacant posts unfilled. The company says there will be no compulsory redundancies.
Growth, Rettig said, looks better outside Europe. Further investment projects are being examined in Asia and America.
Evonik also wants to sell subsidiaries Oxeno and Syneqt, which together employ more than 4,300 people.
“We speak with investors at Oxeno, but that’s not yet the case with Syneqt,” Rettig said. He added that both units are to be put up for sale.
The group is one of Germany’s largest chemical firms. Revenue in 2025 came to €14.1 billion, down 7 percent from the year before. Its portfolio covers more than 4,000 products used in pharmaceuticals, food and mechanical engineering.
The cuts sit inside a wider slump. Germany’s chemical-pharmaceutical industry remains the country’s third-largest industrial sector, with more than 476,000 employees. In May, the Munich-based ifo Institute warned that the sector’s business climate had deteriorated sharply. High energy prices, bureaucracy and the Iran war were cited as causes.
“The consequences of the hostilities in the Middle East are hitting the already struggling chemical industry with full force,” said Anna Wolf, head of the ifo Centre for Innovation Economics.
Evonik’s answer is a familiar story in German industry this year: fewer jobs at home, asset sales, and a search for cheaper growth abroad.
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has continued its downward spiral after suffering significant losses in state elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Sunday, September 20. In addition to coming second to the progressive Die Linke in the German capital, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party failed to achieve the 5% needed to enter Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s parliament, marking a new low – or, in Merz’s own words – a “disaster.”
The results of the two elections were radically different: in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the largest percentage of votes, echoing, in many ways, the recent outcome in Saxony-Anhalt. In Berlin, Die Linke emerged as the winner, claiming a quarter of the vote after a campaign focusing on housing, the cost of living crisis, and public transport.
Part of the local reports note that while the AfD and Die Linke lie on opposite ends of the political spectrum, both gained ground thanks to the perception that they bring the best chance of breaking with the policies implemented by the government coalition between CDU and the Social Democrats (SPD).
These policies – pursuing extensive cuts to the social and welfare system and attacks on labor rights in order to fund a massive rearmament drive – have completely eroded the support for Merz’s conservatives. Despite this administration’s unprecedented unpopularity, the German Chancellor is showing no sign of changing course, stating after Sunday’s election that “reforms must come.”
Die Linke’s Berlin result: reforms must be implemented – but which reforms?
Reforms must be implemented, voters in several German states apparently agree with Merz – just not those envisioned by the CDU. Die Linke’s campaign, led by Elif Eralp, offered an alternative list of policy reforms addressing Berlin’s inhabitants’ most pressing concerns. This meant a focus on accessible housing – including a follow-up on the 2021 referendum where voters backed expropriating the property of private real-estate companies with 3,000 or more units in the city.
Five years ago, over one million people supported the referendum’s idea of socializing the housing pool, yet no action was taken by the local administration. Since then, the housing situation has grown worse, leading to widespread frustration. Die Linke’s campaign recognized the general discontent and promised it would not give up on socialization.
“Die Linke’s successful campaign in Berlin was driven by its strong focus on affordable housing and rent control, which resonated deeply with voters facing massively rising living costs,” Kirsten Schubert, a general practitioner active in the party’s local chapter, told BreakThrough News. “The party integrated large-scale door-to-door campaigning strategy, allowing volunteers to connect personally with hundreds of thousands of residents directly at their doorsteps. By those means, strong social media presence and a huge range of community activities, they successfully mobilized a diverse coalition of non-voters, progressive urban youth, and traditional working-class voters.”
Krunoslav Stojaković, a political advisor at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, says that the election result commits not only Die Linke, but also “the social left and all those who care about a more just society” to work towards achieving socialization of housing. “At this point, there can be no going back […] The people of Berlin have given us this mandate.”
“There will be resistance,” he emphasizes. “Potential coalition partners are only tentatively supportive of Die Linke, and some are already making demands against the socialization of those profiting from the housing crisis as a condition for political cooperation.”
Progressive measures to face opposition from center
The approach adopted in Berlin marked a welcome break from Die Linke’s campaigning in other states. Stojaković pointed out to the portal H-alter that the party’s earlier choices – such as joining coalitions that implemented austerity measures – contributed to a fall in popularity. The recent success offers an opportunity to reclaim lost ground and reshape the party’s approach to fieldwork. But it should not be taken for granted that this will happen.
For now, the party faces talks with potential coalition partners SPD and the Greens. Figures from both parties signaled there are significant misalignments between them and Die Linke. While the SPD does not share the commitment to socialization of housing, the Greens’ Franziska Brantner said the party would not cooperate with “anti-semites from Neukölln.” With this, Brantner indicated that the political mainstream in Germany will persist in pressuring those criticizing Israel – even if this criticism remains timid at best.
On the other hand, left and progressive parties across Europe recognized in Die Linke’s result an important rupture within the predominating context of the far right gaining electoral ground. From Jean-Luc Mélenchon in France to Slovenia’s Levica, reactions emphasized the significance of shaping grounded and unequivocally left programs. “Politics begins with the daily problems of millions of people,” wrote Peter Mertens, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA). “It is not just about talking about tenants and workers, but about organizing them so they can impose change themselves.”
This article was updated on Wednesday, September 23, to incorporate comments from Kirsten Schubert.
The pilot of a U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing safely ejected before the aircraft crashed at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, according to the wing.
The pilot is still receiving medical treatment, the wing said in a statement. Emergency response teams are still on the scene. The cause of the incident, which took place about 2:30 p.m. local time, is still under investigation and additional details will be released when available.
The crash happened as the jet was on approach to land at the installation, located in the western German region of Rhineland-Palatinate, according to the New York Post.
“Following a plane crash in the vicinity of U.S. Air Base Spangdahlem, fire and emergency response teams from the Eifel District of Bitburg-Pruem were dispatched to the scene,” The Associated Press reported, citing the district.
Images emerged on social media showing smoke rising in the distance.
An F-16 fighter jet has reportedly crashed at the U.S. Spangdahlem Air Base in western Germany on Tuesday afternoon.
Witnesses reported seeing a jet rapidly descend before a large column of black smoke appeared near the runway.
The F-16 crash at Spangdahlem was the second mishap in a week for USAF F-16s. On Sept. 17, an F-16 from the 149th Fighter Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas crashed in northern Michigan. The pilot in that incident also ejected.
According to air traffic control (ATC) audio, the pilot’s wingman said at the time of the Michigan crash, “we have a possible mayday. My wingman may have taken a bird.” TWZ cannot independently confirm what caused the crash. The audio continues and offers a fairly dramatic and raw look at how the incident occurred over the air waves.
F-16 crash ATC audio, BUCK 11 flt x2 F-16s were flying along the VFR low level route VR634 when the 11 advised MINNEAPOLIS CENTER that his wingman may have hit a bird and was going to eject just south of Traverse City, Michigan
The 52nd Fighter Wing provided some additional information.
“The aircraft was returning to Spangdahlem Air Base following a routine training flight involving four F-16s when the crash occurred,” the wing stated. “The remaining three aircraft diverted to Ramstein Air Base and landed safely. The pilot of the crashed aircraft ejected safely and received medical care.”
“Emergency response personnel responded to the scene, with local German fire departments and emergency medical services providing support,” the wing added. “German emergency response partners have offered their continued assistance as needed. The 52nd Fighter Wing appreciates the swift response and continued support of our German partners.”
Several key German industry groups and energy analysts are warning that Germany could face severe gas supply issues, and potentially entirely deplete its storage, if an exceptionally cold winter occurs. Of course, predictions of this sort have been made off and on in recent years. Germany has never actually run out of gas before. The question is now how alarmist these warnings are and how realistic an actual gas and energy shortage is this time around.
Currently, the government argues there will be no gas shortage. However, storage operators, energy executives and some economists argue that a mild winter should be manageable and a brutally cold one could get tight enough to force industry to cut production and send prices soaring.
One of the most dire warnings comes from Markus Krebber, chief executive of RWE, Germany’s largest power producer.
“If we get a mild winter, everything will be fine,” he told Focus in an interview. “If the winter is hard, there can be significantly higher prices. And it can get tight.”
Krebber said Germany is entering the season “with the lowest gas storage levels of the past 20 years” – lower even than in 2022, when Russian pipeline flows collapsed. “That works if we have a normal winter. If we get a particularly cold winter, it can get scarce.”
He has also warned that if Germany does not add more power supply, “there will be distribution battles for electricity” among industry, data centers and the electrification of heat and transport.
The data supports Krebber’s concerns. The German gas storage association (INES) warns that Germany entered September at its lowest storage levels in 15 years, at around 53 to 56 percent. INES models show that if refills remain sluggish and if Germany experiences an extremely cold winter, similar to the weather of 2010, storage reserves could be exhausted as early as January or February, potentially leaving daily supply shortfalls of up to 25 percent.
German underground gas caverns are roughly 20 percentage points below last year’s level and far under the seasonal norm. While Berlin’s own rules call for most gas storage sites to reach 80 percent by Nov. 1, almost no one now expects that to happen.
“By now all the experts agree: these 80 percent are already technically almost impossible to achieve and also not realistic,” Klaus Müller, president of the Federal Network Agency, said in a Phoenix television interview. He added that storage is not the whole story. “We have created our own capacities with four liquefied natural gas terminals. We can obtain gas from Norway, Belgium, Holland, France.”
Energy market consultants and industry group analyses point out that weak summer gas refills – driven by unfavorable price spreads between summer and winter gas and price volatility from global conflicts – have left Germany reliant on steady ongoing imports. They point out that cold weather is not the only factor, as disruptions could be exacerbated by pipeline outages, reduced LNG flows, escalating conflict in Ukraine or the Middle East, and various other scenarios. All of this comes at a time when Germany’s buffer is much thinner than in previous years.
Not everyone is panicking, though. The Federal Network Agency, Germany’s energy regulator, has also acknowledged the low storage levels but stated they do not currently indicate an imminent crisis or inevitable shortage.
Claudia Kemfert, an energy economist at the German Institute for Economic Research, says that a distinction must be made between shortages and higher prices. She has said an acute shortage is not her base case, but that low stocks leave the system more exposed if cold weather, high LNG prices and supply interruptions hit at once. Relying on last-minute cargoes, she has argued, is “risky and expensive.”
Historical weather data supports less extreme gas shortage scenarios. On average, the past ten winters have been extremely mild in Germany, with the exception of last year’s winter, which was exceptionally cold. If there is a repeat this year or the winter is even colder, it could indeed tip Germany into an energy crisis, but the odds appear to be against such a scenario.
In the meantime, industrial companies in Germany are already taking precautionary measures, as a severe cold snap would likely force curtailments on industrial consumers first to stretch remaining gas through February and March to protect vital natural gas deliveries to households.
Another piece of good news it that the European Union as a whole is near 70 percent in terms of gas storage, far better than Germany. This means that the crisis is unlikely to grip all of Europe. Still, Germany is Europe’s largest economy and a key hub of industry. Any gas or energy crisis in the country would have broad repercussions across Europe.
On election night in Berlin-Neukölln, clan boss Issa Remmo walked into the Left Party’s (Die Linke) victory party and declared he finally felt supported by the party. Now, the far-left party is in damage control after trying to distance itself from Remmo, whose son has already leaked chats alleging his family’s ties go deeper with the Left Party than anyone thought possible.
Issa Remmo, widely described by police and prosecutors as the head of Berlin’s Remmo family, appeared at the Neukölln district association’s public election-night gathering yesterday evening, Sept. 20, 2026. The Left Party had just finished first in the local election with a provisional 25.7 percent, ahead of the CDU at 18.8 percent. Remmo posed for photos, including with a victory sign, and spoke to the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper.
“The Berlin Left is not hostile towards Jews,” he said, addressing a charge that had dogged the party throughout the campaign. “In Germany I feel supported by a party for the first time.” He added that he would not vote for an anti-Jewish politician.
Julius Betschka of Stern Magazine posted the scene the same evening, calling it “incredible” and noting that Remmo had been in the sights of the justice system for decades.
Wahnsinn. Der Chef des berüchtigten Remmo-Clans, Issa Remmo (seit Jahrzehnten im Visier der Justiz), feiert laut @morgenpost mit der Linkspartei in Neukölln den Wahlsieg. Er fühle sich von der Partei unterstützt, soll Remmo gesagt haben. pic.twitter.com/1JrXashpZl
The Left Party’s immediate response was one of denial. Jorinde Schulz of the Neukölln district board told dpa the event was public, Remmo was not on any guest list, and there were “neither political nor personal relations” with him. Lead candidate Elif Eralp said on ZDF shef “was not invited and was sent out again…We have nothing to do with organized crime. We fight it.”
Berlin state manager Bjoern Tielebein was blunter: “Types like him are definitely not our allies… Everything one hears and knows about this person is repulsive.”
Journalist Yossi Bartal, who said he was present, wrote that he recognized Remmo, informed organizers, and that Remmo was then “very clearly” asked to leave a loud, crowded hall that anyone could enter. Remmo was also reported at the larger Kreuzberg party later and turned away at the door.
However, the various accounts that attempted to distance the Left Party from Remmo appear to have fallen apart 24 hours later due to leaked messages from Firas Remmo, Issa’s son. Firas posted Instagram screenshots of messages he said came from MP Ferat Koçak. In one, the Left Party MP sent “greetings with respect back to your father” and proposed a morning visit. In another, dated Feb. 17, Koçak wrote “Brother help me spread this,” attaching a video of his own Bundestag speech criticizing the term “clan crime,” and asked that “all your people” share it. Firas replied “Gladly brother.” Koçak reacted with a heart emoji.
Firas captioned the posts: “We are part of something big. We stand together… We are a team.” Koçak had not publicly confirmed or denied the chats as of Monday afternoon.
If the chats are accurate, they do not prove Remmo was formally invited to the party. They do make the “complete stranger walked in off the street” version harder to sell.
Photos were also circulated showing Remmo posing with Ibrahim Ibrahim, described by the NGO Democ as a leading German supporter of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an EU-listed terrorist organization. Other images placed Ibrahim with Bundestag member Ferat Koçak and candidate Vanessa Emde. The Neukölln board later confirmed Ibrahim’s presence among “hundreds of guests,” including many from the Palestinian community.
@der_neukoellner MdB Ferat Koçak feiert bei Wahlparty seiner @LinkeNeukoelln mit Ibrahim Ibrahim (r.), Vertreter des extremistischen „Vereinigten Palästinensischen Nationalkomitees“ (VPNK), Dach für PFLP und Hamas in Berlin. Ibrahim gratuliert: VPNK war „Teil dieses Erfolgs“. pic.twitter.com/xy6LdPN420
In 2018, prosecutors seized 77 properties attributed to the family on the theory they were bought with criminal proceeds; courts later ordered the confiscation of dozens of them. Issa Remmo himself has not been convicted. However, to police, prosecutors, and a large part of the Berlin public, the Remmo name is synonymous with organized clan crime.
Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) condemned the photos and Remmo’s presence at the Left Party’s event.
“That Issa Remmo appears at the election party of the Berlin Left is a disturbing signal,” he wrote. A party that wants to take responsibility for the city, he said, must make unmistakably clear that there is “no proximity whatsoever to structures that belong to organized crime.”
Dass Issa Remmo auf der Wahlparty der Berliner Linken auftaucht, ist ein verstörendes Signal. Gerade eine Partei, die Verantwortung für unsere Stadt übernehmen will, muss unmissverständlich deutlich machen, dass es keinerlei Nähe zu Strukturen geben darf, die zur organisierten…
He said Berlin had spent years pushing police, courts, and administration against clans and those efforts “deserve political backing, not pictures that raise doubts about the necessary distance.” Anyone who wants to govern Berlin, Wegner added, must stand “without ifs and buts” on the side of the rule of law.
Even the left is taking a harsh stance.
Green Party state chair Nina Stahr said the Left would have to explain the incident before any coalition talks.
Morgenpost commentary called the scene “a slap in the face for our police officers.”
As for Issa Remmo, he see a Left Party that he can benefit from. His family has spent years fighting asset forfeiture, and the Left Party wants to abolish weapons-ban zones, restrict certain police analytics, and treat large-scale property seizures with suspicion.
A planned father-son fishing weekend ended in disaster when Leon, 14, was attacked at the Freiburg train station in Germany by a 41-year-old Ethiopian migrant who tried to gouge the young boy’s eyes out. The father describes his son suffering serious psychological harm from the incident, including waking up every night screaming.
Leon had just stepped off a train from Heilbronn on Sept. 9 and was waiting on a staircase for his father, 54-year-old Roland H., when an Ethiopian man punched him in the face without warning. The blow knocked Leon’s head against a stone step and left him dazed.
The attacker then bent over him, reached for his eye and shouted, “I’ll kill you!”
Cafe owner, 46-year-old Pino R., said he saw the assault and intervened.
“I saw the boy sitting by the stairs. At that moment, I saw and heard the perpetrator running towards the boy shouting: ‘I’ll kill you,”‘ Pino R. told Bild newspaper.
He added, “Then, the man reached for the boy’s eye and threatened to tear out his eyeball. Then, I jumped on the attacker and pulled him down.”
Only then, Pino R. said, did he see that the man was holding a carpet knife. He called staff for help and alerted police.
Roland H. arrived shortly afterward and found his injured son on the stairs. Leon was taken to a hospital with injuries to his face and eye. Doctors diagnosed the victim with a jaw contusion and injuries to his eyes. According to the father, the boy additionally suffered from nausea and dizziness from the attack.
The father of Leon said that the injury on Leon’s cheek looks remarkably like a swastika, raising questions of whether the Ethiopian migrant tried to carve the symbol in the boy’s face.
“Thank God he missed the eye when he tried to grab it,” Roland H. said.
He credited the cafe owner with preventing a worse outcome.
“I am so grateful to Pino. He saved my son’s life,” said Roland.
The Federal Police Inspectorate Weil am Rhein confirmed an investigation is underway against a 41-year-old man from Ethiopia on suspicion of assault. Officers found pepper spray and a utility knife in the man’s pants pocket. The suspect allegedly told police he had mistaken the boy for someone else.
A migrant was awarded with German citizenship after stabbing this German comedian 5 times inside the Bremen central train station.
Nikita Miller expressed disbelief that the migrant who nearly killed him received German citizenship. Not only that, but he was released on the… pic.twitter.com/NcxMabWeIO
Specifically, the data shows there were 27,800 violent crimes in German train stations and on trains in 2025, a slight increase from the already very high 27,160 cases in 2024. The data also shows that 44 percent of all of these cases involved a foreigner in 2025, a slight decrease from the 46 percent recorded in 2024.
When the data was first released, AfD leader Weidel took to X to decry the rise in violence on German public transport.
“In 2025, the Federal Police recorded 27,819 violent crimes at train stations, with foreign suspects being significantly overrepresented, particularly in cases of sexual offenses and knife crimes. Under CDU leadership, the situation in Germany is worsening day by day. Only the AfD can provide a remedy,” she wrote.
In a historic first since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Christian Democrats (CDU) have failed to enter a state parliament after falling below 5 percent in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In Sunday’s election, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) finished first with 38.2 percent.
“The result is a disaster,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz said shortly after polls closed in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin. He made the remark before public broadcasters ARD and ZDF projected that the CDU would drop below 5 percent in the northeastern state. That threshold is decisive in German politics: parties that fall short do not enter parliament.
The preliminary result is now in. The CDU finished at 4.9 percent, down 8.4 points from 2021. It is the party’s worst state-election result in postwar German history. The outcome is likely to revive calls for Merz to resign. He has given no sign that he will, and he also refuses to give up the CDU chairmanship.
Instead, Merz spoke of reforms that require “backbone, steadfastness and patience,” adding: “I will bring this up, as party chairman of the CDU and above all as chancellor of our country.”
No further pivotal state elections are imminent, and Merz is betting that debt-financed spending will start to show in the economy. He hopes that by 2027 he can point to two years of growth.
The problem is that fuel prices keep rising, health-insurance costs remain high, and large parts of German industry are under pressure from tariffs, input inflation, and competition from China.
The AfD is increasing that pressure. It finished well short in Berlin, below 17 percent, but took first place in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with 38.2 percent — more than double its 2021 result of 16.7 percent. That follows its victory in Saxony-Anhalt, where it won 43.8 percent. The AfD will not govern in Schwerin, the capitol of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, however. The Social Democrats (SPD) came second with 35.5 percent. Together with the Left (6.5 percent) and the Greens (5.7 percent), the SPD has enough seats for a coalition and is expected to stay in power.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel called her party the new “people’s party” and said the CDU had been displaced in that role.
“We are the strongest force and have arrived in the middle of the population,” she said on ZDF.
Voters had wanted “a change of policy,” she added, declaring the firewall of other parties against working “a failure.” Her long-term goal, she said, is coalition talks with the CDU.
Co-leader Tino Chrupalla claimed a “clear government mandate” and said the AfD would offer talks to all parties. The other parties in the new Mecklenburg-Vorpommern parliament have already ruled that out.
Diesel prices have climbed to record or multiyear highs in several European countries this week, squeezing truckers, farmers and households already strained by months of elevated energy costs tied to the Middle East conflict, the war in Ukraine, and tight global fuel supplies.
Germany posted a new all-time high of €2.471 per liter on Wednesday, according to the ADAC motoring club, as reported by German news outlet t-online. This price has left motorists paying about €0.71 more per liter than before the war began. Gasoline prices also set a nationwide record.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) politicians are going on the offensive.
“Fuel price: Merz government is done for! Incredible €2.55 per liter for diesel and €2.34 for super here at the gas station. In Germany, the highest taxes on fuel are paid. Two days ago, I filled up for €176.00 and my car wasn’t even full,” wrote German MP Dr. Ingo Hahn.
Spritpreis: Merz-Regierung hat fertig!
Unglaubliche 2,55 € für den Liter #Diesel und 2,34 € für SUPER hier an der #Tankstelle. In Deutschland werden die höchsten Steuern auf den #Sprit bezahlt. Vor zwei Tagen hatte ich für 176,00 € getankt und mein Auto war nicht voll. pic.twitter.com/fgHfK1CMy0
Finland led the European Union at €2.505 per liter in the latest official weekly data, followed closely by Denmark at €2.502 and the Netherlands at €2.494. The EU-wide average stood at €2.075 per liter as of mid-September.
Some individual stations in Germany, France and Italy have even approached or exceeded €2.90 per liter. The weighted average across eight major markets reached €2.172 per liter on Thursday.
One AfD politician, Martin Hess, even highlighted one gas station where prices reached €3.00 per liter for the first time.
Erstmals kostete Diesel gestern an einer Tankstelle im Kreis Göppingen (Baden-Württemberg) über 3 Euro pro Liter, Super 2,859 Euro.
Und was macht Merz? Kurz vor den Wahlen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern und Berlin kündigt er Entlastungen an, statt endlich zu handeln. Die Bürger… pic.twitter.com/fSgtbHB2qk
Physical wholesale diesel prices in northwest Europe and the Mediterranean hit record or near-record levels earlier this week before easing slightly.
The surge in energy costs stems from disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, along with advances by Houthi forces in Yemen, Russia’s extended ban on diesel exports, depleted inventories, high refining margins, and seasonal demand. With winter heating season fast approaching, experts warn the energy crisis could worsen.
“Supply disruptions, depleted inventories and strong refining margins highlight an increasingly severe shortage of middle distillates,” Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo, wrote in a note Sept. 16.
Crude prices have remained elevated above $100 a barrel, but the price of refined diesel has risen at a much faster rate compared to crude barrels, which is also the case across the Atlantic in the United States.
Electricity wholesale prices vary widely across Europe. Italy has seen day-ahead prices well above €200 per megawatt-hour in some zones, while Nordic markets have managed to remain much lower.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament on Wednesday that the Hormuz crisis has added €90 billion to the EU’s fossil-fuel import bill since the conflict started “without a single molecule of energy added.”
She urged faster investment in grids, storage and clean power, saying Europe cannot remain an industrial powerhouse with structurally high energy prices.
“Let’s make Europe’s future electric,” she said, calling for electricity’s share of energy consumption to double by 2040.
The Commission’s AccelerateEU package, launched in April, emphasizes closer coordination on gas storage filling and possible oil stock releases, a new Fuel Observatory to track supplies, and a temporary state-aid framework (METSAF) running through Dec. 31 for agriculture, fisheries, transport and energy-intensive industries.
Member states are encouraged to use targeted, time-limited tools such as income support, energy vouchers, social tariffs and lower electricity taxes for vulnerable households rather than broad fossil-fuel subsidies.
Meanwhile, EU governments are scrambling to contain the crisis.
German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche proposed a temporary cut in fuel VAT from 19 percent to 7 percent, saying it “could address the burden where it is felt directly: at the gas pump and it would take effect immediately.”
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged action against “price gouging” but has not announced specific actions. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil and other officials pressed on Friday for discussion of windfall taxes on energy companies, arguing these companies are “exploiting the situation.”
EU Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said Brussels has no current plan for an EU-wide levy and that taxation remains a national competence.
Industry groups warn that high diesel costs are raising freight rates and threatening competitiveness, particularly for road transport, which remains heavily dependent on the fuel.
EU and national officials say winter gas storage is on track and there is no immediate supply emergency, but they acknowledge prices will stay elevated until geopolitical risks ease and more homegrown clean energy comes online.
A publicly owned hospital in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia has fired a pediatric surgeon without notice after she ran unsuccessfully for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in a neighboring state’s local elections.
Dr. Svetlana Spirina, a senior physician in pediatric surgery at Klinikum Lippe in Detmold, appeared on the AfD ticket for Osnabrück’s city council in Lower Saxony’s Sept. 13 vote. While she did not win a seat, the hospital, owned solely by the Lippe district, then dismissed her immediately, the clinic confirmed.
In many cases, native Europeans are being aggressively turned away from the medical profession and educational opportunities in favor of foreign workers.
German politicians are spreading misleading information about Syrian doctors working in Germany.
5,000 Syrian doctors may sound like a lot, but there are 420,000 doctors in Germany. The number of Syrian doctors is approximately just enough to cover the 1 million Syrian… pic.twitter.com/fHJh9945y9
According to accounts of the dispute, Spirina denied AfD membership and her candidacy in a staff meeting after a pediatrician from the Münsterland region publicized the campaign in an open letter. Campaign material then disappeared from the AfD district association’s website and social media accounts.
District chairman Florian Meyer said he deleted the posts to shield the doctor from professional consequences, while expressing dismay at her public distancing.
In a biographical text she wrote about herself, Spirina said she had been an AfD member since 2023. She left the party shortly before the election, apparently under pressure from her employer.
Spirina received 408 votes, or 6.7 percent. That was not enough for a council seat. The AfD won 8.5 percent in Osnabrück and four seats.
Across Germany, AfD members and politicians have been targeted with professional consequences, including open threats. Many experts believe this harassment campaign is designed not only to strike fear but also to limit the pool of quality candidates the AfD can recruit as politicians.
Mohammad S. was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison for striking killing twin brothers with his car while the brothers were traveling on an electric scooter. The 24-year-old convict also left their friend without a leg after dragging him. The verdict left the twins’ mother in tears as it was read.
The Frankfurt Regional Court convicted Mohammad S. of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and attempted murder. Judges also ordered him to pay the surviving rider €350,000 in compensation for pain and suffering, plus 5 percent interest.
Presiding Judge Anke Wagner said the panel saw remorse and despair in the defendant, according to Bild newspaper.
“It was a difficult task for us to find a just verdict,” Wagner said. “He has repeatedly made it clear how much he would like to undo everything.”
Prosecutors had sought eight years in prison. Defense lawyers asked for a two-year suspended sentence on charges of dangerous interference with road traffic and leaving the scene.
Duy Quang N. and Quang Minh N., both 23, had come to Frankfurt with a friend for a concert. Relatives described the twins as young men who “always went through life with a smile” and who had completed an apprenticeship in Hamburg. Both died after a car hit their e-scooter. Their companion, Hieu Trung H., 28, lost a leg.
According to the court, Mohammad S. was driving his father’s Toyota Corolla at about 2:30 a.m. on July 6, 2025, with three friends after the group had inhaled nitrous oxide on the banks of the Main River. On Mainzer Landstrasse, the Syrian-born defendant struck the twins, who were thrown 30 meters through the air. An expert said the car was traveling at up to 87 kph (54 mph) in a 50 kph (31 mph) zone.
“At a constant, excessive speed,” according to the indictment, the convicted man then hit Hieu Trung H., who was riding about six meters ahead. The friend’s head pierced the windshield. Prosecutors said he was dragged 70 meters and lost a leg.
Hieu Trung H. testified Wednesday from a wheelchair, his hands folded and his voice trembling. He said he had come to Germany to train as a nurse and first met the twins in Vietnam during a German course. The defendant sent him a letter of apology, which he accepted, though he asked to be moved in the courtroom because he could not look Mohammad S. in the eye.
“I can’t remember the accident. I was in a coma for almost two months, only then did the memories come back. When I woke up, I thought the other two were still alive. Suddenly, I felt that I had lost a leg, and I was in pain that nobody wants to experience in their life.”
He also told the court: “The pain of my friends’ deaths was worse.”
The crash changed him, he said. “I used to be a person who liked to talk.”
He said that he hardly talks anymore and mostly just wants to sleep.
Surveillance video played at trial showed Mohammad S. continuing through the city after the collision, sparks flying from an e-scooter trapped under the Toyota for more than a kilometer. It was not immediately clear whether prosecutors or the defense would appeal.
Remix News has reported on numerous such incidents involving young foreigners hitting, maiming and killing drivers and pedestrians while traveling at high speeds on the road, often high on various drugs.
The Frankfurt sentence landed in the same week as another Hesse speeding case that has drawn similar anger.
In Offenbach, on Nov. 30, 2025, 32-year-old Edin D. drove a VW Golf through a 50 kph (31 mph) zone on wet Mühlheimer Strasse at extreme speed, with reports citing as high as 145 kph (90 mph).
After swerving around a car leaving a driveway, Edin D. crossed into oncoming traffic and hit an Audi A1.
The impact killed two women, 66 and 88, and 9-year-old Raksha, who had been riding with a neighbor on the way to church choir. Prosecutors called it murder and asked for life in prison.
On Sept. 9, 2026, the Darmstadt Regional Court instead convicted Edin D. of prohibited motor-vehicle racing causing death and sentenced him to seven years. The court said he acted with gross recklessness and accepted the risk, but it did not conclude the case was murder.
Remix News also reported this week on another similar case of Ali A., who, due to his reckless driving, killed 33-year-old Dutch woman Elisabeth, who was pregnant at the time of her untimely death. Ali A. is accused of huffing anti-dust spray and fleeing the scene after killing the woman and her unborn baby. In that case, the prosecution only asked for eight months in prison.
Within this article, Remix News has also embedded numerous stories that show the same trajectory of events involving foreigners killing victims due to reckless driving. However, they represent only a small fraction of the stories Remix News has covered on this topic.
A child protection activist, Dennis Engelmann, has filed a criminal complaint against a Berlin performance artist after a video circulated of the artist appearing only in his underwear while performing in front of children at a family festival at a left-wing venue.
Engelmann the complaint to Berlin police over Felix Baumann’s Sept. 6 appearance at ufaFabrik Boulevard 2026, a free outdoor street-art and environmental festival in the Tempelhof neighborhood. Police accepted the complaint and forwarded it to the responsible unit for review, Engelmann said.
Video of the incident has gone viral on X and other social media platforms.
This male artist danced half-naked in front of young children, in the German capital city of Berlin, during a family event.
A criminal complaint has now been filed against artist Felix Baumann, who has received significant taxpayer money for his performances.
The festival, held on the grounds of the ufaFabrik cultural center, was advertised as entertainment for “young and old,” with a children’s circus, a children’s farm and other family programming. Baumann was listed at 3 p.m. on the covered outdoor stage, between a children’s circus act and other performances. His solo show “ha ha ha hi!” has been marketed at other venues as suitable for audiences ages six and up.
Engelmann said the recording showed children standing immediately in front of the stage. In comments to the weekly newspaper Junge Freiheit, he said Baumann’s act should be investigated.
“For me, a clear line has been crossed here,” Engelmann said. “I find not only the extremely revealing clothing, but especially parts of the dance movements and the demonstrative play with one’s own body to be obscene and sexualizing. And that’s right in front of children at a family event. This is neither child-friendly nor responsible. From a professional point of view, I consider this specific incident to be a risk to the child’s welfare.”
According to the complaint and subsequent accounts of the video, Baumann performed in underwear at points in the routine, moved through the audience and, while wearing a nightgown, pulled the garment down and exposed his nipples. Engelmann wrote that he was expressly requesting a criminal investigation of the documented facts.
Baumann, 34, is a freelance physical-theater, dance and contemporary circus artist based in Berlin. His website describes “ha ha ha hi!” as a one-man show blending dance, circus, physical comedy and object manipulation, built around a “mediocre comedian” trying and failing to tell a joke. Other presenters have billed the piece as roughly 45 minutes long and recommended it from age six.
The research that led to the production was supported by the German Performing Arts Fund with money from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. Junge Freiheit reported that Baumann received a €7,500 research grant from that fund when Green Party politician Claudia Roth held the federal culture post, and that he has received additional public support. His professional résumé lists further federal arts funding in recent years.
ufaFabrik describes itself as a place of diversity for people of “all nationalities, religions and professions.” The venue also receives significant financial support from the state of Berlin. According to figures cited from the Senate Department for Finance, the center received more than €2 million in taxpayer funding between 2021 and 2023.
Engelmann said he sent detailed questions to both the venue and the artist and set a deadline of 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, for responses. As of Wednesday, neither Baumann nor ufaFabrik had issued a public statement addressing the complaint. Junge Freiheit reported that Baumann deleted his Instagram account after the performance drew widespread criticism online.
Filing a complaint does not mean prosecutors have opened a formal investigation or that any charge has been filed. Berlin police did not immediately comment on the status of the complaint.
Transgender German federal police officer “Maja S.” has confessed yesterday to the rape of a minor and other serious charges before the Traunstein Regional Court as a part of a plea.
The former officer, who had 35 years of service, admitted to raping a friend’s 14-year-old daughter in the bathroom of a fast-food restaurant in August 2025.
“The injured party was unable to react to this, but stared at the accused in shock,” the court indictment states about the rape. “The accused left the toilet stall and the injured woman locked herself in the toilet, trembling all over her body while suffering from heart palpitations.”
Maja S. confessed to the charges as part of a plea agreement that is expected to result in a sentence of 3 to 3.5 years, according to media reports. Some commentators on social media are already decrying the potential sentence as far too lenient given the gravity of the crimes involved.
Maja S. also confessed to possessing around 2,000 pornographic files depicting brutal assaults and the sexual violence against children, some as young as three.
The transgender former officer also confessed to assault and the sexual abuse of juveniles.
The former officer admitted to producing pornographic videos involving animals, including with other sexual partners and a dog.
According to Bild, the former officer was previously assigned to a special unit of the Federal Police (GSG 9) and was deployed in Afghanistan, among other places. Maja S. continues to receive hormone therapy.
Maja S., who is biologically male, was previously housed in a women’s prison section but is now in the men’s wing of a prison in Munich. Maja’s lawyer has complained that Maja is facing harassment there, including being whistled at by other prisoners.
In addition to the potential prison time, Maja S. must also pay the 14-year-old victim €5,000 and give her a motorcycle. This is the first time Remix News has observed reports of a victim, especially a young victim who cannot even legally ride a motorcycle yet, receiving such a vehicle as part of a plea deal.
Notably, this does not appear to be the first time that Maja S. has offended. Welt newspaper reported that Maja S. must also pay a fine “resulting from a previous, apparently relevant, judgment of the Rosenheim District Court.”
The Welt report notes that the fact that Maja S. reoffended so quickly after this previous verdict from July 2025 was a detrimental factor in this more recent case.
A trans person on trial in the German state of Bavaria on charges that include the alleged rape of a teenage girl and the possession of a large collection of child sexual abuse material while serving as a German police officer.
The trial of the 55-year-old defendant — who is a male-to-female trans person and who has been removed from duty — began today, Tuesday morning, at the Traunstein Regional Court, according to German news outlet Rosenheim24.
Prosecutors accuse the trans ex-officer of raping a 14-year-old girl in the toilet stall of a fast food restaurant and of possessing hundreds of files depicting the sexual abuse of children. Investigators say the material includes violent acts against children, with the youngest victims described as about three years old.
Photos of the trans ex-officer in the courtroom show a tall individual with long bleach-blonde hair, a large arm tattoo, and tall platform shoes.
The defendant also faces an accusation of producing animal pornography. The trans ex-officer is alleged to have made videos where the defendant had sex with a dog, along with several sexual partners. It remains unclear if any of these other individuals have been identified.
The most serious charge concerns an incident in August 2025. Prosecutors say that during an outing with a friend, the defendant raped the friend’s 14-year-old daughter in the restroom of a fast-food restaurant. The defendant is also accused of sending a pornographic WhatsApp message to the girl, who was roughly 40 years younger than the defendant.
The court has scheduled four days of hearings. A verdict could be delivered on Oct. 8.
Italian police in Rimini are investigating a suspected rape after a 17-year-old German tourist woke up in a hotel room with a 27-year-old Turkish man. She told police she had no memory of how she arrived at the man’s bed, which led to questions of whether she ingested date-rape drugs.
The girl had gone out with friends on Friday night, Sept. 11, during a holiday on the Adriatic coast. At a club, she met a 27-year-old Turkish tourist staying in the same hotel as her group. Witnesses say the two left the club together. After that, her friends lost contact. Calls and messages went unanswered for hours.
Only later did she successfully reach her friends. She said she had woken up in the man’s room, confused and with no memory of the hours after leaving the club. According to the Italian news agency Ansa, she told friends, in a distressed state: “Maybe I was raped.”
Friends and police found her at the hotel in the Miramare area of Rimini. An ambulance was then called. At the emergency department, she underwent medical and gynecological examinations under Italy’s anti-violence protocol. Doctors secured forensic traces. She said she had drunk alcohol at the club but could not account for what happened afterward.
Numerous German news outlets did not mention the suspect’s Turkish nationality, such as Merkur and t-online. However, outlets Bild and Welt both note the suspect is a Turkish tourist.
Due to the girl blacking out for hours, officers from the Squadra Mobile — the state police unit that handles serious crime — are examining whether she may have been given a substance such as a date-rape drug.
Investigators searched the 27-year-old’s room and seized personal items and his mobile phone. He has no known prior convictions, has denied the allegation, and has been reported as cooperative with police. Italian media say he has been reported for sexual violence; the investigation is continuing.
So far, no charges have been filed. Police are still investigating the details of the night, including how the teenager ended up in the room and whether any drug was involved.
A new poll in Germany has delivered yet another shocking blow to the political establishment. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has reached 30 percent for the first time while stretching its lead over the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) to 10 points, with the Union reaching a historic low of just 20 percent. In addition, another poll has also put the CDU even lower, at 18 percent.
According to the GMS poll, the governing black-red coalition of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives and the far-left SPD would no longer command a majority. Compared with GMS’s mid-July survey, the Union lost three points and the AfD gained two.
“Important milestone cracked: With 30%, our AfD is now already 10 percentage points ahead of the Union! The citizens want the political change – and they will get it. Time for the AfD!” wrote AfD co-leader Alice Weidel on X.
Wichtige Marke geknackt: Mit 30% liegt unsere AfD nun bereits 10 Prozentpunkte vor der Union! Die Bürger wollen den politischen Wechsel – und sie werden ihn bekommen. Zeit für die AfD! pic.twitter.com/I2MHeUMCZr
Personal ratings for the chancellor are equally grim. In a recent Insa survey, 78 percent of respondents answered “no” when asked, “Is Friedrich Merz (still) the right chancellor?”
Only 14 percent said yes; 8 percent offered no opinion. Even among CDU voters, the picture is bleak for Merz: 58 percent opposed him and just 36 percent supported him.
Pressure inside the CDU is growing. Speculation about a possible change at the top has circulated for weeks, with North Rhine-Westphalia Minister-President Hendrik Wüst and Bavaria’s Markus Söder frequently named as potential successors. Söder, for his part, said the long-standing “firewall” against the AfD is not working.
After AfD's victory in Saxony-Anhalt, Alice Weidel takes Chancellor Merz to task during a raucous debate.
"Because [Germans] have to deal daily with the consequences of mass migration, with the hatred of foreign groups toward their own, with hatred of Christians, with… pic.twitter.com/lBjLNPt9hM
“This ‘firewall model’ has failed,” he said. Instead, he offered a different image: “We in Bavaria see ourselves as a protective wall.” He argued that simply isolating the AfD without confronting its arguments no longer works. Instead, he wants to confront the AfD on issues such as immigration.It remains to be seen how that is possible if the CDU keeps allying with left-wing parties.
However, it is important to note that Söder continues to rule out a cooperation or coalition with the AfD.
“Not talking about the content at all, putting them in a corner and cobbling together some majorities around them without addressing the issues. That is the wrong path,” he said.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, speaking after the Saxony-Anhalt vote, engaged in an intense debate with Merz in the Bundestag, saying, “The voters in Saxony-Anhalt have told you in the language of the democratic sovereign with all clarity: black-red is over.”
Merz has countered by calling the AfD a “destructive force” that “wants to destabilize our country.”
State elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin on Sept. 20 will put Merz’s CDU further to the test. Speculation is growing that if the CDU falters during those elections, enormous pressure will be placed on Merz and his role as chancellor could become untenable.
In the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a 14-year-old boy was tortured for hours by ten youths, many of them who were foreigners or of foreign origin. The incident, which happened in the city of Neubrandenburg, saw the youths beat, burn, and insult the victim, all while reportedly filming the incident and subsequently posting it to social media.
The footage, which officers first learned about on Saturday, captures events from the previous Wednesday in the city’s downtown area.
According to investigators, the suspects, who are between the ages of 9- to 15-years-old, kicked and punched the victim, hit him with objects, and burned him.
According to the police report, the boy was “lightly injured,” but it is unclear what injuries he sustained or his psychological state after the ordeal.
Police identified the suspects, who include German, Albanian, Tunisian, and German-Turkish youths. Reports indicate that many of these youths were already known to police. For those youths old enough, charges have already been filed, which include assault, coercion, insult, and violating the victim’s privacy through recordings.
Muslim students beat him because he was German and gay.
"They hated me because I am German, because I was already a homosexual boy back then, and because I did not submit to Sharia, to Islamic laws on German soil," said David Brough (@_david_brg).
It should be noted that it is possible that the German youths have a migration background. The German-Turkish youths may have dual citizenship, which is common in that community.
Those suspects under 14 cannot be held criminally responsible in Germany.
A police spokeswoman described the trigger as a “minor communication misunderstanding that rapidly escalated.”
This is not the only case of group violence involving youths in the city of Neubrandenburg. Within the last two weeks, a witness called police after seeing three 12- to 15-year-olds stomping on a 12-year-old boy. Officers said the two groups are not connected, though both were previously known to them.
Remix News has long reported on such incidents, including one from June of this year in which a group of foreigners whipped and tortured a 12-year-old German youth before sexually assaulting them. Other similar cases occur on a regular basis (here, here, here, here, here, and here).
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