Germany news: Merz to speak at CSU party conference

Skip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

• Chancellor Friedrich Merz will speak at the close of the Bavarian CSU party conference
• The 2-day conference comes as Merz's coalition of the CDU, CSU and SPD faces a high degree of dissatisfaction
• A fire has largely destroyed the mountain retreat formerly used by Hitler, known as Eagle's Nest.

Read below for a roundup of stories making news in Germany for the weekend of October 24-25.

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Skip next section Merz set to address Bavarian conservatives as party conference wraps up

October 24, 2026

Merz set to address Bavarian conservatives as party conference wraps up

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to make an address at the Munich exhibition hall as the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) closes its two-day party conference.

Merz's speech comes at a turbulent time for the CDU/CSU alliance and expectations among delegates for the speech by the leader of the conservative bloc are mixed. 

The CSU is the Bavarian sister party of Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and there remain a number of key issues that have many in the CSU concerned over the future of the party at a national level.

A point of contention is who from the conservative bloc will succeed outgoing President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, with there being no clarity as yet from Merz or CSU leader Markus Söder, as to who their candidate would be.

Coupled with that leadership question, there is discontent over the pace of implementation of reforms of Germany's retirement, nursing care and health insurance systems.

There is also concern over a strategy to deal with the rise of the far-right in the form of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD).

https://p.dw.com/p/5OcT1

Skip next section Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat catches fire, police say

October 24, 2026

Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat catches fire, police say

A fire broke out on Friday evening at the Kehlsteinhaus in Bavaria more commonly known as the Eagle's Nest and used as a retreat by Adolf Hitler and Nazi officials.

The Kehlsteinhaus was engulfed in flames, a police statement read, adding that a suspect has been arrested and the incident was being criminally investigated.

Read more about that here. 

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

Skip next section Welcome to our coverage

October 24, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

Guten Morgen  from a chilly newsroom here in Bonn.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to address his CDU's Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) as their 2-day party conference wraps up in Munich.

The coalition government that Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the CSU belong to along with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) is facing a number of challenges.

There has been speculation over the political future of Merz's coalition, consiting of CDU, the CSU and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), folllowing a string of electoral setbacks and policy issues.

And then overnight, a fire has ripped through the one-time retreat in the Bavarian Alps, built for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

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