Overview

• The cabinet meets Wednesday at the Defense Ministry for the first time in more than three decades, with Boris Pistorius bringing his voluntary-service Wehrdienstgesetz unchanged after Johann Wadephul withdrew his veto, even as parts of the Union still seek an automatic conscription trigger.
• Parliamentary leaders from CDU/CSU and SPD convene a two-day Würzburg25 retreat to map autumn priorities, including a briefing by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
• Following Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf’s withdrawal from consideration for the Constitutional Court, the SPD has a replacement candidate lined up, subject to Union approval.
• Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil has left higher taxes for top earners on the table to address the 2027 shortfall, the CSU rejects any increases, CDU lawmaker Andreas Mattfeldt voices openness to a higher top-rate surcharge if paired with social reforms, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz rules out raising income tax on medium-sized companies.
• Labour and Social Minister Bärbel Bas has set up a commission to propose changes to Bürgergeld, housing benefit and the child supplement by year-end, as reporting highlights ongoing coordination shortcomings in the Chancellery.