Germany: Government Policy & Public Finance

Two analysts from Stepwise's Global Strategic Engagement Team debate whether German Chancellor Friedrich Merz can survive the political fallout from the CDU's historic regional election losses in September, or if mounting party pressure will force his resignation. Ian Cameron argues Merz will cling to power despite weakened authority, while Thomas Goldstein contends his chancellorship appears terminal.

Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party achieved a historic victory in Saxony-Anhalt regional elections, winning nearly 44% of the vote and dealing a severe blow to the ruling Christian Democratic Union. The election results are creating political instability that could weaken Berlin's leadership role in the European Union and reshape the bloc's approach to critical trade, industrial policy, and China relations during a pivotal period for European policymaking.

The European Union's Market-in-Sustainable-Products (MiSP) initiative enters a critical political negotiation phase with over 1,900 proposed amendments that could fundamentally reshape the EU's market architecture.

On 13 July 2010 the European Commission presented a Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on "Conditions of Entry and Residence of Third-Country Nationals in the framework of an intra-corporate transfer" (KOM(2010) 378).