Overview
- This week’s two‑day cabinet meeting at Schloss Neuhardenberg committed the coalition to move quickly on an income‑tax reform that the finance minister will submit to the cabinet imminently.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz framed the agenda around optimism and reaffirmed plans to end the penalty‑free early retirement known as the Rente mit 63, keeping the proposal on the government’s fast track despite regional party resistance.
- Ministers stopped short of new federal heat‑protection spending and instead ordered a review of existing measures and closer coordination with the Länder, noting the states have about €100 billion from a special fund to deploy.
- Scientists and regional experts report severe drought damage this summer, including record low Elbe water levels and crop shortfalls, while AfD leaders have publicly questioned the human role in warming and clashed with farmers’ accounts.
- A separate criminal investigation is ongoing into the police shooting of a 14‑year‑old in Munich‑Schwabing; prosecutors say video and witness evidence are being examined and the family has not cooperated with investigators so far.