Overview
- ARD’s Hauptstadtstudio announced the 2026 Sommerinterviews will be produced in the studio rather than on the Spree terrace to reduce the risk of public disruptions.
- The series will begin on July 5 with Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil and run through the summer with a planned finale featuring Chancellor Friedrich Merz on August 30.
- Planned guests include Green leader Franziska Brantner, AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla (with Alice Weidel not scheduled this year), and CSU leader Markus Söder, keeping the format focused on senior federal politicians.
- The interviews will air Sundays at 18:00 on Das Erste in the Bericht aus Berlin slot and will be led by Markus Preiß with deputies Matthias Deiß and Anna Engelke.
- ARD says the move prioritizes editorial control and security to foster deeper, 30-minute conversations, a change that may lower visible public engagement but raise the chance of uninterrupted policy scrutiny on air.