Germany news: Merz faces conservative youth wing in Bonn

Skip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz addresses conservative CDU/CSU national youth-wing conference 

• The increasingly unpopular leader's approval ratings have been in free fall of late

• Germany's development minister asks that debt borrowing rules be eased to allow further critical Ukraine funding

• In the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, police expect 3,000 participants to show up for an Alternative for Germany (AfD) youth rally and a pro-democracy counter-rally

Here is a roundup of the main news from and about Germany on Saturday, October 17:

Tired of missing our real-time updates? Click here to add us as a Preferred Source on Google. Then tap the "Star" or "Preferred" to keep DW News at the top of your feed.

Skip next section Merz addresses party youth at annual convention

October 17, 2026

Merz addresses party youth at annual convention

Chancellor Friedrich Merz was in Bonn Saturday to address an annual national meeting of his Christian Democratic and Christian Social Unions' (CDU/CSU) youth wing, the Young Union (Junge Union/JU).

Things were testy the last time Merz addressed the 90,000-member group — when they fought over pension policy— and he will now face them with dwindling approval numbers and growing dissatisfaction over the way he has led Germany and his party.

Merz will greet a youth wing that is self-confident as he himself reels from disastrous election results in recent state and municipal elections.

On Friday, the JU overwhelmingly re-elected Johannes Winkel as their chairman, with the CDU federal parliamentarian taking 94.3% of the vote.

"Our generation still has big plans," said Winkel as he spoke to JU attendees, "and we will be the ones who successfully continue to write the history of the CDU and CSU as a people's party." 

On Friday, North Rhine-Westphalia State Premier Hendrik Wüst, a rising star within the party, addressed attendees. On Sunday, Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder will take the stage. Both represent potential replacements for Merz.

Despite the number of prominent party leaders addressing the JU amid talk of Merz's possible political demise, Johannes Winkel vowed: "We're not some applause meter. This isn't a casting show for the chancellorship."

https://p.dw.com/p/5OMEn

Skip next section Welcome to our coverage

October 17, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

Guten Morgen from the DW news team in gray and blustery Bonn, where, just across the street, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is addressing the Junge Union (JU) youth wing of his CDU and its Bavarian sister party CSU at an annual national conference.

Last time Merz spoke to the group, things got confrontational over pension policy. The chancellor will have a number of thorny issues to navigate this time around, not least whether the party thinks it can survive under his leadership.  

As Germany struggles with budget cuts, the country's development minister asked for a debt spending exemption to cover shortfalls in critical funding assistance for Ukraine. Reem Alabali Radovan warned that Ukraine is suffering more death and destruction than ever but "as budget cuts for development assistance continue, we simply will not be able to maintain our support."

In the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, "Generation Deutschland," the youth wing of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), is holding a rally under the motto: "Secure the Future — Safeguard Identity." A "Rally for Democracy" counterdemonstration will also take place. Police say they expect roughly 3,000 participants in all.

Stay tuned for the latest on these angles and plenty more from Germany this weekend.