published by Sigrid Arteaga
Contributor: Imogen Goodman and Ulrich Kraus
Bild: Marriage over (Daniel Hartwich) | Ehe-Aus (Daniel Hartwich)
FAZ: Merz calls AfD the „most important opponent“ | Merz nennt AfD den „wichtigsten Gegner“
Funke: CDU celebrates Friedrich Merz | CDU feiert Friedrich Merz
Handelsblatt: Tariff dispute shocks markets | Zollstreit schockt Märkte
RND: CDU party conference as election campaign: unity in installments | CDU-Parteitag im Wahlkampf: Geschlossenheit auf Raten
SZ: Merz thanks CDU for steadfastness | Merz dankt CDU für Standhaftigkeit
Tagesspiegel: „Living is becoming a luxury“: rents are rising significantly – especially in Berlin | „Wohnen wird zum Luxus“: Mieten steigen deutlich an – vor allem in Berlin
taz: Merz’s confused plan | Merz wirrer Plan
Welt: Leading CDU politicians back Merz | Führende CDU-Politiker stärken Merz den Rücken
Top-News
CDU/CSU Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz rules out any cooperation with AfD: At the CDU party conference, Merz said there would be no cooperation, no tolerance and no minority government. He said the CDU was striving to make the AfD as small as possible again. In his speech, Merz did not directly address the parliamentary votes in the Bundestag last week. Despite assurances to the contrary, as the leader of the CDU parliamentary group, he had twice accepted votes from the AfD. With a view to economic development, Merz announced that all decisions would be linked to whether they served the competitiveness of German industry. faz.net, wiwo.de, tagesschau.de, t-online.de, sueddeutsche.de, spiegel.de
USA wants to sell weapons to Israel for a billion dollars: The government has asked Congress for approval of the sale of, among other things, some 4,700 1,000-pound bombs worth more than $700 million, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing insiders. Caterpillar’s armored bulldozers, worth more than $300 million, are also included in the package.
Donald Trump wants to tie US aid to Ukraine to raw materials: Ukraine is to supply the US with rare earth elements in exchange for aid. His administration wants to negotiate an agreement with Kyiv, Trump said. According to him, Ukraine is positive about the deal. Ukraine is said to have the largest European reserves of rare earth elements, which have so far been little researched or industrially developed. spiegel.de, tagesspiegel.de
Bild-Sonntagsfrage by Insa: Union 30 percent (+1), SPD 16 percent (-1), Greens 13 percent, FDP 4.5 percent (+0.5), AfD 22 percent, Left 5 percent (+1), BSW 5.5 percent (-0.5), others 4 percent. bild.de
Green Party candidate for chancellor Robert Habeck calls for „security offensive“: In response to acts of violence such as those in Aschaffenburg, Magdeburg and Solingen, the Green Party has presented a ten-point plan for migration policy and internal security. Habeck said that everyone in the country must be made safer, whether they have a history of migration or not. He said it was unacceptable that more than 170,000 arrest warrants had not been executed, more than 14,000 of them for violent crimes. As a consequence, he called for an „enforcement offensive“ with a focus on Islamists and extremists. waz.de, zdf. de, n-tv.de
More regional news:
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas call for calm in the face of impending US punitive tariffs: Should US President Donald Trump make good on his threat to the EU, the EU could respond with its own tariffs. But it would make more sense for both sides to seek an agreement rather than an escalation, said Scholz at the informal summit of heads of state and government in Brussels. Kallas explained that there are no winners in a trade war. spiegel.de, zdf.de, faz.net
Greenland wants to ban foreign donations to political parties about two months before parliamentary elections. The law is said to serve to ensure Greenland’s political integrity. The new law must be considered in the context of geopolitical interests in Greenland and the current situation, in which representatives of an allied great power have expressed their interest in taking control of Greenland. All donors who are not resident in Greenland are considered foreign. In view of the majority situation in parliament in Nuuk, the adoption of the ban is considered certain. tagesspiegel.de
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou accepts no-confidence motion for budget law: The minority government has passed the budget for the current year without a vote by the National Assembly. Bayrou used a special article in the constitution that is linked to a vote of no confidence in parliament. It is expected that Bayrou will survive the vote planned for Wednesday. The Socialists announced that they would support the center-right government. The budget plan provides for a reduction in the state deficit, primarily through cuts in public spending. spiegel.de, welt.de
Poland reviews appointment of more than 3,000 judges: A commission has presented two draft laws to reverse unlawful appointments of judges under the national-conservative previous government. Some of the appointments are to be declared invalid, while others are to be reviewed by 2030. The judges will be able to continue to exercise their offices for a two-year transition period. The judgments pronounced are also to remain in force if they have not already been challenged.
M23 rebels in the DR Congo declare a unilateral ceasefire: a spokesperson said that the aim was to protect the civilian population. However, the rebels said that they would continue to defend their own positions. The rebels took control of the strategically important city of Goma, which is home to millions, last week. According to new information from the World Health Organization, at least 900 people were killed in the fighting. spiegel.de (ceasefire) sueddeutsche.de (Goma)
Presidential election in Syria in four to five years: Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said it would take some time to restore the infrastructure for such a vote. In addition, the authorities would have to update the electoral register. In December, he had stated that it would take up to three years to draft a new constitution. The future government would represent Syria, but would be based primarily on the competence of individuals. Al-Sharaa said he would initially focus on reforming the Syrian economy; corruption of the old government had severely affected the economic situation. derstandard.at
Planned US tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico to be postponed by at least a month:
More news:
Business
Illegal dog sales generate billions annually – a huge black market in Germany. On Plus Forty Nine this week, we talk to Sufyan, an entrepreneur from Pakistan who now lives in Berlin. He founded HonestDog, a platform that helps people find the ideal dog and connects them directly with verified breeders and animal shelters. In addition, with the upcoming federal elections in February in mind, we take a closer look at current developments in migration policy and provide insight into how the German electoral system works. Listen to the new episode today at 7pm on JazzRadio Berlin 106.8 or now here.
World’s best pizzeria chosen: winner is not in Italy – „Una Pizza Napoletana“ restaurant in New York „Una Pizza Napoletana“. stern.de