Overview
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited the Leibniz-Institut für innovative Mikroelektronik (IHP) in Frankfurt (Oder) on Friday to tour clean rooms, view a wafer and meet researchers working on silicon-based microchips.
- Researchers showed sensor chips designed for rapid liquid and medical tests and radio-wave systems that can transmit data while detecting objects and people for future mobile networks.
- No new funding or policy measures were announced on site as the trip served mainly to promote the government's Hightech Agenda and its investment priorities.
- About 40 people protested outside after an AfD call with some chanting against Merz and carrying German flags, and the AfD’s Brandenburg branch is monitored by the Verfassungsschutz as right-wing extremist.
- Local CDU district chair Désirée Schrade publicly complained about not being informed of the visit, a complaint that highlights party tensions over contact with the grassroots and could affect how technology outreach is handled going forward.