Angela Merkel

The appointment signals stricter asylum rules, tighter border controls and a tougher stance on deportation for the EU’s biggest economy.

Paris and Berlin have been at loggerheads for years, but things are at last looking up.

Despite Donald Trump’s lurch into protectionism and coercion, Friedrich Merz believes a transatlantic trade deal can still be done.

Once the great hope of the European climate movement, Germany’s Greens are now confronting their relative powerlessness.

Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz is set to break years of fiscal stringency to counter the erosion of the transatlantic alliance.

Inside the months of quiet, grinding preparation that went into the British prime minister’s all-smiles first trip to the Trump White House — and why it could all still unravel.

CDU leader moves swiftly to form coalition with SPD, framing the alliance as a stabilizing force after Germany’s turbulent election.

Pro-atomic countries are optimistic that center-right winner Friedrich Merz can help ease the EU’s never-ending nuclear spat.

“We look forward to continuing our joint work with Germany to protect lives, bring real peace closer to Ukraine, and strengthen Europe,” says Ukrainian leader.

POLITICO breaks down what the conservatives’ victory means for EU policy and cooperation ― from nuclear weapons to cannabis.

After winning the German election, the conservative leader must navigate a new era without Washington as a close ally.

With international politics in flux, three leading historians give their views on the most consequential election in a generation for Europe’s most powerful country. 

Germany’s likely next chancellor faces a key challenge: winning over women.

Ursula von der Leyen was Angela Merkel’s protégé. Friedrich Merz was her rival. Who will lead Europe?

Germany’s likely next chancellor wants to reboot ties with France, do a free-trade deal with Donald Trump and get tougher on China and Russia.

POLITICO has processed 35 years’ worth of election data to find out why this month’s vote is messier than ever ― and what will happen next.

Former German leader reiterates swipe at chancellor candidate from her own Christian Democratic Union ahead of Feb. 23 election.

Germany’s conservatives are desperate to avoid a three-party coalition, but the outcome depends on how many small parties make it into parliament.

The first major survey of voters after frontrunner Friedrich Merz’s controversial alignment with the far right suggests the gambit failed.

Conservative leader’s gambit to weaken the postwar ‘firewall’ may be a boon for the AfD ahead of a national election.

As Germans prepare to vote on Feb. 23, an almighty argument over whether mainstream parties should work with the anti-immigration AfD is threatening to upend politics in Europe’s most powerful democracy. 

“Without the migration policies since 2015, the AfD wouldn’t be anywhere near this strong,” says Vienna’s former conservative chancellor.

Former chancellor’s intervention exposes deep rift within country’s conservatives over how to handle the far right’s rising influence.