Germany news: Parties debate who should succeed President Steinmeier, with several women under discussion
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Germany's political parties are weighing possible successors to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, with no candidate agreed yet. Meanwhile, a poll suggests most Germans are giving Halloween a miss this year.
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This blog is now closed. Below is a roundup of the top stories from and about Germany on Wednesday, October 28, 2026: Tired of missing our real-time updates?
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Be sure to come back tomorrow for more of the latest.
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Two Belarusian nationals have been arrested on suspicion of planning arson attacks in Bavaria in southern Germany on Russia's behalf, according to news outlet Der Spiegel.
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Spiegel reports that the two men, aged 39 and 50, were first taken into investigative detention in early October.
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It cited security sources as saying the alleged plot involved plans to set a fire near a railway line and a high-voltage power transmission line.
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Security services in Romania say they are investigating the same two men, suspecting them of an arson attack in mid-September on an industrial park in Brasov where a munitions company operates.
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Romania's SRI intelligence service accuses the Belarusian men of being part of a Russian espionage and sabotage network. Another man accused of involvement in the fire in Brasov was arrested on Monday in Poland, according to Romanian authorities.
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Spiegel reported that the extremism and terrorism-combating ZET organization had taken the lead in the investigations on the German side.
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A series of suspected sabotage attacks have taken place in recent weeks and months, often with links to Russia either suspected or explicitly alleged.
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Perhaps the most headline-grabbing incidents were cases targeting Starlink assets in Poland and later Bulgaria, which led to authorities seeking and arresting suspects in Germany. A Berlin court has sentenced a 69-year-old man to 12 years in prison for drugging, raping and filming women he met through online dating platforms.
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The defendant had "deliberately sought out victims," presiding judge Jakob Weber said.
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Judges also ordered preventive detention after his sentence, finding that he remained a danger to the public. The electrician, who sometimes posed as a police officer or military pilot, was convicted of 22 counts of rape involving 14 women between 2016 and 2022.
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At his Berlin apartment, he spiked their drinks with sedatives before attacking them.
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The women only discovered what had happened during the police investigation. Investigators found a camera aimed at his bed that ran "24/7," alongside meticulously kept records of recordings, a police officer told the court.
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An investigator described "extreme dehumanization" in online groups the man used, saying women were "traded as commodities."
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The defendant admitted the rapes at the start of his trial.
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A psychiatric expert found no evidence that his ability to control his actions was diminished. Investigations into suspected offenses involving another 44 women are continuing.
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The ruling can still be appealed. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video German chemicals giant BASF has stepped up its push to acquire rival Evonik, arguing that a combination would create a more competitive and resilient global business.
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BASF CEO Markus Kamieth said the companies' strengths complemented each other and a deal would make sense as consolidation gathers pace across Europe's chemical industry.
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But he stressed that any takeover must benefit BASF shareholders.
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"We will not pay an excessive price," he said, declining to discuss the status of talks or a timetable.
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BASF has raised its offer for Essen-based Evonik to €24 per share, valuing the company at just over €11 billion, the German dpa news agency reported. The proposal has drawn criticism from Dennis Radtke, who heads the workers' wing of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
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He warned that thousands of jobs could be lost and called for the takeover attempt to be abandoned.
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Evonik's largest shareholder, the RAG Foundation, holds around 43% of its shares, giving it a key role in any deal. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video An eight-year-old girl was seriously injured in an animal attack at a wildlife park south of Berlin, police said.
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The girl was inside an enclosure with two other children and a staff member when at least one animal attacked her.
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The others suffered no visible injuries.
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The girl, who was visiting Wildpark Johannismühle near Baruth/Mark in Brandenburg, was airlifted to hospital.
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Police are investigating whether negligence was involved. Authorities have not identified the animal involved.
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The privately run park said it was cooperating fully with investigators and supporting the girl's family. It declined to provide further details while proceedings were ongoing.
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A 30-year-old German tourist has been found dead on the Seychelles island of La Digue after leaving his hotel at night to look for swimming goggles, police said.
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The man went out at around 9 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) on Monday to retrieve goggles he had left on a beach. His wife alerted authorities when he failed to return.
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A search team found his body in a rocky area away from a hiking trail leading to Anse Coco beach.
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Police said the circumstances remained unclear and an investigation was underway to establish the cause of death. German carmaker Mercedes-Benz has lowered its annual profit forecast as falling sales in China and rising costs overshadow a sharp increase in quarterly earnings.
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The Stuttgart-based company now expects earnings before interest and taxes to remain at last year's level, having previously forecast a substantial increase.
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Market conditions had become more challenging, particularly in China, CEO Ola Källenius said.
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Mercedes also expects higher costs in the fourth quarter, including for raw materials.
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Third-quarter net profit rose 28% to €1.52 billion, although the comparison reflects restructuring costs that weighed on earnings a year earlier.
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Revenue fell 4.5% to €30.7 billion. Car sales in China plunged 31%, pushing overall sales down 8% to 407,200 vehicles.
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Outside China, sales rose 1%. Fully electric car sales provided a brighter spot, climbing 61%.
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Källenius also pointed to continued sales growth in Europe and the US. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has proposed a global alliance to defend international trade rules and coordinate responses to economic pressure.
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Speaking in Tokyo, Merz called for like-minded countries to strengthen and reform the World Trade Organization (WTO), according to his speech manuscript. Members could commit to rejecting unlawful tariffs and economic coercion, he said, in an apparent reference to the US and China.
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They could also agree to accept trade dispute rulings as binding despite the current paralysis of the WTO's appeals body, and respond jointly when other countries break the rules.
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Merz urged Germany, Japan and other partners to work more closely together, echoing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's call for an alliance of middle powers.
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Acting together would mean countries no longer had to ask whether they were "on the menu" or "at the table," Merz said: "Because then we would jointly own the restaurant."
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We've already mentioned some potential successors to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in this blog.
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Here's a broader look at the names being discussed.
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Much of the debate has focused on choosing a woman, as Germany has never had a female head of state.
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Potential candidates include: However, a woman is not certain to get the job.
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The state premier of Hesse, Boris Rhein, has also been mentioned, while comedian and author Hape Kerkeling is the subject of a public petition rather than a party nomination. Geman Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany and Japan would explore jointly developing a fighter jet as they seek closer industrial ties.
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"We also want to explore whether cooperation in fighter aircraft construction is possible," Merz said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo. Takaichi also backed closer defense cooperation.
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Britain invited Germany earlier this month to join the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), following the collapse of the rival German-French-Spanish Future Combat Air System project. Britain, Japan and Italy are developing a sixth-generation fighter jet under GCAP, aiming to have it operational by 2035.
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Could the name of the next German president be Ines Claus?
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The discussions around Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s successor, whose term ends next year, have reached the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on his trip across the Indo Pacific. Steinmeier will have spent two terms in office when he retires next year.
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And while the president’s role is largely a ceremonial one in Germany, the process of picking a suitable candidate is a highly political affair, happening largely behind closed doors, unlike in many other countries.
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That process is now in full swing.
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There’s largely bipartisan agreement that the next president should be a woman, which would be a first for the country. Chancellor Merz was one of those early on saying he was in favour of a woman taking the job, but had otherwise stayed out of the discussion so far.
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That has now changed. The strong positioning by the Bavarian conservatives from the CSU in favor of Ilse Aigner, a former state agriculture minister, taking the job, seems to have pushed its bigger sister party, the CDU, to find a candidate from their own ranks.
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Ines Claus, a lawyer and legal expert, was named by some within the CDU during Merz's Asia trip. It’s unusual for the chancellor to comment on party political discussions while travelling, but his team has now stressed that they are awaiting "an orderly process." In other words, choosing Steinmeier's successor is far from a done deal.
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The CDU is reportedly preparing to discuss who they should put forward at their next board meeting on November 9. They will also take into account the wishes of the CSU, the Social Democrats (SPD), and even the Greens, wanting the future head of state to have broad public support.
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Instead, a special Federal Convention brings together Bundestag lawmakers and an equal number of delegates chosen by Germany's 16 state parliaments. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and their coalition partner, the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), together hold a majority. That means they could elect a candidate without support from other parties, provided their delegates agree.
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Initial talks will involve CDU state leaders and the CSU, with November 9 seen as an important milestone. Discussions will then widen to include the SPD and environmentalist Greens.
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German political parties are weighing who should succeed President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, with Bavarian parliamentary speaker Ilse Aigner attracting support across party lines.
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The presidency is Germany's largely ceremonial head-of-state role, separate from the chancellor, who leads the government.
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Steinmeier cannot seek a third consecutive term, and his successor will be elected on January 30.
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Germany has never before had a woman as federal president. Aigner belongs to the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Merz's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
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The CSU leader and Bavarian premier Markus Söder has endorsed her.
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She has also drawn backing from politicians outside the conservative bloc, including senior Greens politician and Bundestag deputy speaker Omid Nouripour. "We need someone in these times who holds the country together," Nouripour said during Steinmeier's state visit to China, arguing that Aigner had the experience and authority required.
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Center-left Social Democratic Party politicians have also voiced support.
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But Merz's CDU says it should nominate the candidate. Sources close to the chancellor denied reports that he favored Ines Claus, who leads the CDU parliamentary group in the state of Hesse, saying he had "neither made a decision nor put forward a proposal."
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Nearly three-quarters of Germans are unlikely to celebrate Halloween, despite its popularity among younger adults, according to a YouGov poll.
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Some 74% said they were very or fairly unlikely to take part, whether by dressing up, attending a party, decorating or handing out sweets to children.
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By contrast, 23% said they would probably celebrate in some way.
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That figure rose to 50% among 18- to 24-year-olds, compared with just 11% among those aged 55 and over. The survey found no difference between respondents in eastern and western Germany.
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YouGov surveyed 2,666 adults in Germany on October 27.
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The poll was described as representative.
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Halloween falls on Saturday this year. Its name comes from "All Hallows' Eve," the evening before the Christian feast of All Saints, and its customs spread to the US with European immigrants.
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To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Halloween might be a big deal in the US, but most Germans aren't planning to join in the spooky celebrations.
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A new poll suggests nearly three-quarters of adults in Germany will give the occasion a miss. Meanwhile, although Germany has never had a woman as federal president, that could be about to change.
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Senior politicians are starting to think seriously about who should become the country's next president — and one name is attracting support from several political parties. Stay with us here for these stories and more of what Germany is talking about today.
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