Overview
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz campaigned with CDU lead candidate Manuel Hagel at events in Heddesheim and Bad Rappenau, with the party expecting about 800 and 1,300 attendees.
- Merz told the Heddesheim crowd that Europe should lessen dependence on the United States and said Germany must safeguard its industrial base and be ready to work more and longer.
- Hagel set out education proposals that include a final free kindergarten year and the reinstatement of binding primary‑school recommendations across all school types.
- In Bad Rappenau Merz described a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, saying Trump asked, “Is that really true?” after hearing about a reported 50 percent drop in irregular migration.
- The CDU said Merz will make further campaign stops in Stockach and Ravensburg two days before the election.