German conservatives want to hold on to automatic pay increases for lawmakers, while the center-left thinks they should skip it this year in light of the economic situation. DW has more.
Bystron had been sentenced for using the banned Hitler salute and handed a fine of €11,250 ($13,240).
The court case centered around a photo collage Bystron shared on Twitter (now X) in 2022, with the caption "Bye, bye Melnyk! German politicians wave goodbye!" showing former Chancellor Angela Merkel and Bettina Wulff, the then-wife of the former German president, both with an arm raised and hand outstretched, resembling the Hitler salute.
Prosecutors accused the lawmaker and his team of manipulating the salute to make it appear as though the individuals depicted were performing it.
Bystron had said it was "completely absurd" that anyone should seek to "impute" a Hitler salute to him in connection with the collage, urging people to not always interpret every "harmless wave" as a Hitler salute.
HIs legal team appealed the sentencing and ultimately prevailed, as the appeals court was unable to establish that any of the photographs had been manipulated.
Bystron welcomed the outcome.
"It was obvious from the outset that the first-instance ruling would not stand," he said. On the charge of tastelessness, he said questions of taste were for each person to judge for themselves.
The government's new 2026 tax revenues forecast predicts a reduction of €17.8 billion (roughly $21 billion) across the federal, state and municipal governments this year. Of this, €6.8 billion is attributable to known plans to change tax laws, but the other 11 billion is a result of altered forecasts compared to the last report in October.
"The results show how hard the Iran war is hitting us economically," Klingbeil, also the leader of the junior coalition partners the Social Democrats, said.
Klingbeil said the "irresponsible war" initiated by US President Donald Trump and the energy price shocks that followed from it "are halting the positive economic dynamics for the moment." He said this would also have implications for next year's budget, and warned of likely medium-term impacts for the remainder of the current legislative period.
From now to 2030, the government reduced its projected total tax revenues by €87.5 billion with a margin of error of €39.8 billion.
Klingbeil's critical description of the war comes at a time when Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been consistently using a softer tone with US President Donald Trump . Last week, Merz said the US was being "humiliated" by Iran in negotiations, seemingly angering Trump, who soon voiced plans to withdraw US troops from Germany and increase tariffs on cars from the EU.
Berlin under pressure to fix pensions, health care and taxes To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/5DRTJ Skip next section Germany's far-right AfD loses court case over multi-million-euro donation Published 05/07/2026 Published May 7, 2026 last updated 05/07/2026 last updated May 7, 2026 Germany's far-right AfD loses court case over multi-million-euro donation Marcel Fürstenau Political parties in Germany rarely have cause to celebrate receiving such a large sum of money all at once: In early 2025, a donation totaling €2.35 million ($2.77 million) poured into the coffers of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) . The timing could hardly have been better, as Germany was in the heated final stretch of its federal election campaign .
However, the Berlin Administrative Court found the donation to have been illegal because the AfD had concealed its true origin. According to the party, the money came from Gerhard Dingler, a former official of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ).
However, the court found Dingler to have been a front man for the actual donor: the German-Swiss billionaire Henning Conle. The AfD claims to have have been unaware of this.
However, the administration of the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, doubted this account. Following the public disclosure of the donation, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Austrian Customs had alerted the German Bundestag administration to suspected money laundering. The FIU found that Dingler had received € 2.6 million from Conle just before making the donation, and believe that the lion's share of this sum was evidently passed on as a donation to the AfD.
The Berlin Administrative Court has now ruled that the party should not have accepted the money, as the identity of the actual donor was unclear.
The AfD can, however, take comfort in the fact that it will not have to pay a fine. To avoid potential financial penalties, the party had — as a precautionary measure — already transferred the controversial donation to the Federal Treasury.
With Thursday's court ruling, the AfD's only remaining option is to appeal the verdict.
The questionnaire was meant to ascertain willingness to join the military or the reserves in the case that Germany should find itself drawn into a conflict.
For young men, answering the survey was mandatory. However, according to media group RND, some 28% of them have not filled it out.
About half of the 72% who did respond expressed a degree of willingness to be drafted. Germany is trying to raise the number of active soldiers to 270,000 from 255,000 by 2035.
Prior to 2011, Germany had conscription for all young men for at least a year, though they were allowed to opt out and do one year of voluntary service instead.
Some lawmakers and military leaders have said that reintroducing conscription is the only way to meet recruitment targets, but the measure is still broadly unpopular with the public .
Recently, there was an outcry over language in a new legislation that seemed to suggest all German men between the ages of 18 and 45 would have to let the Bundeswehr know if they planned to leave the country for more than a month. However, the military later clarified that this rule only applies if Germany is at war.
Without naming the airline, police confirmed that the 43-year-old was being "aggressive and verbally abusing his fellow passengers," as well as throwing up throughout the flight, which occured on Wednesday evening.
He has been charged with violating federal air safety regulations.
The man, 40, had been a municipal employee responsible for emptying stretches of parking meters. He and his wife confessed to pocketing coins and laundering them via private accounts and supermarket vouchers.
They were charged with commercial theft and have been sentenced to 5.5 years in prison and must pay back what they stole plus additional penalties.
Read more about how the thefts were discovered .
Although the money involved is coming from German state coffers and going to German businesses, such subsidies require EU approval in order to balance competition between member states.
This "decision supports industry in making the shift to cleaner production while keeping a clear focus on efficiency and fairness," according to EU Commission Vice-President Teresa Ribera.
The program will provide support to projects that replace the use of fossil fuels with low-carbon alternatives or swap out old technologies in favor of newer, more efficient ones.
Germany is the most populous nation in the EU and its biggest emitter of greenhouse gases .
Not only would this be a first for a regional parliament, absolute majorities have become extremely rare in Germany, where seven or more major political parties often compete for votes.
According to a poll by Infratest Dimap, the AfD is currently at 41% support, vastly surpassing the conservative CDU at 26% and third-place Left Party at 12%.
The AfD's regional chapter in Saxony-Anhalt is classified as an extremist organization by Germany's domestic intelligence agency.
It remains unclear what would happen if the party does not secure an outright majority, as other parties have an understanding that there is a "firewall" against joining a coalition with the AfD. However, some municipal and regional CDU groups have shown signs that they may be ready to break the taboo.
Why Germany's anti-AfD firewall is crumbling To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/5DP3x Skip next section Disability law a 'slap in the face,' say critics 05/07/2026 May 7, 2026 Disability law a 'slap in the face,' say critics Another dispute between the ruling coalition came to the fore on Thursday when the Bundestag restarted its prolonged debate about the proposed revisions to the Disability Equality Act.
Federal Minister of Social Affairs Bärbel Bas of the center-left SPD said there had been "progress" during the day's debate but that she would have "liked to see more." The opposition Green Party , however, said this was "not a law to be proud of in any way." MP Corinna Rüffers said it was a "slap in the face to be people with disabilities." The Left Party agreed, with parliamentary co-leader Sören Pellmann calling it a "step backward" and argued it wasn't up to the standard of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities, as well as the equal protection guarantees of the Basic Law, Germany's constitution.
The conservative CDU has called the measures "disproportionate," including a clause that requires federal buildings to become wheelchair accessible by 2045.
Alongside their Bavarian sister party the CSU , the CDU has also rolled back requirements for private businesses to become more accessible. This includes phrasing that says businesses can argue it is an "unreasonable burden" to, for example, have restaurant tables further apart, build a wheelchair ramp or install an elevator.
Critics argue that this language is vague and will make the law difficult to enforce.
Disability rights advocates have long complained that German infrastructure is built for only the most able-bodied , and that access to employment and education is lacking. Germany has been heavily criticized for still using employment models for some disabled adults that can see them earning less than minimum wage in communal "workshops." The country has also faced criticism for lack of inclusion in education , still employing "special schools" in some areas. This can be a particular problem in rural areas.
"How much longer do we want to wait?" asked SPD lawmaker Heike Heubach, a member of the Deaf community.
Germany: Equal rights for people with disabilities To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video https://p.dw.com/p/5DOu7 Skip next section German tourist wins payout over sun-lounger fight 05/07/2026 May 7, 2026 German tourist wins payout over sun-lounger fight Germans have long been stereotyped as waking up at dawn to reserve sun loungers with towels while on vacation in places like Spain, Italy, and Greece . However — travelers report that this has become a widespread problem that cuts across nationalities.
According to the German news agency dpa, a man who was vacationing on the Greek island of Kos with his family in 2024 sued the travel agent he had used to book the over €7,000 ($8,200) all-inclusive trip.
He claimed that the provider had promised hassle-free access to pools and sunbathing, only for him to find that the hotel allowed a pre-booking system that had been maxxed out by other guests in advance.
This left him with no choice but to wake up at 6:00 to try and reserve spots or his family of three would not be able to use the pool that day.
A judge in Hanover awarded him €986 in compensation.
However, junior coalition partner the Social Democrats (SPD) as well as the opposition Left Party are calling for the increase to be scrapped in light of the economic situation.
According to official statistics , prices have exploded across Germany and inflation in April 2026 reached 2.9%. Costs of basics like coffee and eggs have increased by at least 14% compared to 2020, and heating oil and other fuels by at least 20%. Some 58% of German households reported that they are currently in saving-mode .
However, senior coalition partners the Christian Democrats (CDU) have argued that the pay rises should go forward as planned.
Jens Spahn, the CDU's parliamentary leader, told public broadcaster ARD on Thursday that "in principle, we should stick with this mechanism," saying that the automatic system functions better than it did pre-2014, when lawmakers got to set their own raises at a certain amount of money.
At the same time, parliamentary co-chair of the Left Party Heidi Reichinnek said that lawmakers "earn enough" and should respect the situation of ordinary Germans.
Bundestag members will have their base salary before tax increase to €12,330 ($14,500) a month on July 1, up from €11,833 a month.
Today we will cover a fresh dispute within Germany's ruling coalition, as well as Chancellor Friedrich Merz visiting the Digitalization Ministry one year after its creation.
Check back here for all the latest headlines, reports, and analyses from across Germany today.
