Overview
- Parliamentary leaders of the Greens released a five-point program calling for an end to municipal debt distress, secured social infrastructure, better-resourced police and courts, stronger protections for women, and action against the housing shortage.
- The paper attributes visible urban problems primarily to underfunded local governments and overstretched services, and urges Chancellor Friedrich Merz to work on improvements rather than dividing the country.
- The plan also presses Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt to deploy more federal police at rail stations and to stop what the Greens call wasteful, unlawful border checks.
- Protests against Merz’s remarks continued with uneven turnout, including about 50–60 participants in Wildeshausen and roughly 250 in Munich, far below the 5,000 announced by organizers, according to police.
- Political escalation includes a criminal complaint by Kreuzberg Greens alleging incitement, while a YouGov survey reported by media indicates about 58% of respondents agree migration has changed the cityscape.