Overview

• Sahra Wagenknecht said the federal post of Ostbeauftragte is no longer needed and argued the West now requires its own commissioner due to deindustrialization and economic strain.
• CDU deputy parliamentary leader Sepp Müller has voiced a similar approach, favoring a commissioner responsible for structurally weak regions across Germany.
• Elisabeth Kaiser of the SPD has served as the federal commissioner for the East since May 2025 and presented her first annual report highlighting unequal starting opportunities for young people in East and West.
• BSW paired the call with a demand for a €100 billion ‘Aufbau West’ program and a five‑point agenda including higher pensions, lower defense spending, lower energy costs, and a €15 minimum wage.
• A study cited in the coverage reports that eastern Germany’s per‑capita GDP remains about 72 percent of the western level and is not expected to converge with stronger western metropolitan regions soon.