Lisa Haseldine

It’s not just in Britain that defence spending is top of the agenda. In Germany, too, the debate has turned to how the government can resurrect the country’s hollowed-out armed forces. Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU and the man pipped to become the next chancellor, is driving the discussion. But unlike the grudgingly positive response Prime Minister Keir Starmer has received for pledging to increase UK defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP over the next two years, Merz is blundering his way into an almighty row – and possibly a constitutional crisis.

After two torturous months of campaigning, the wait is over. Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative CDU party, is on track to win Germany’s federal election. According to the official exit poll, published at 5pm UK time, his party has won 28.9 per cent of the vote. This means they are set to become the largest party in Berlin’s new parliament. Hot on the heels of the CDU is the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, which has achieved 19.7 per cent of the vote. While it is its highest ever result in a federal election, their projected vote share suggests the far-right party will be just shy of the 20 per cent mark – several percentage points lower than polls had predicted for much of the campaign.

This morning, at around 10.30 local time, a white Mini Cooper ploughed into a crowd of more than 1,000 people in central Munich, south Germany. According to the local authorities, at least 28 people have been injured, with several suffering life-threatening injuries, including a child. Pictures from the scene show a battered car, with a smashed windscreen, surrounded by debris and discarded first aid material. According to Bavarian police, the driver of the car, who was arrested at the scene, is a 24-year-old Afghan failed asylum seeker. The man is reportedly known to the police and has a history of drug and theft-related offenses. The German newspaper Der Spiegel is reporting that the driver of the car applied for asylum after arriving in the country in 2016.

Last night, Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition and the man most likely to become the Germany’s next chancellor, came one step closer to ending freedom of movement into the country. In a tense vote in the Bundestag, Merz and his conservative CDU party managed to pass a motion designed force the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz to tackle illegal migration head on by just three votes. Controversially, they were only able to win it with the help of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party. Merz’s motion was a political gamble.

With four weeks to go until Germany heads to the polls for its federal election, Elon Musk has just given his third public endorsement of the country’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party. Beaming into the hall live from the States at the party’s campaign launch in Halle (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt, the tech billionaire appeared to loud whoops and cheers from the crowd. Referencing Germany’s Nazi past, he declared that there is ‘too much of a focus on past guilt and we should move beyond that.’ Musk started by stating he was ‘very excited' for the party and repeated his belief that the party is ‘the best hope’ for Germany.

With less than six weeks to go until voters head to the polls, the snap federal election campaign in Germany is finally heating up. The AfD is set to turn a third of Germany blue and clinch five of the country's 16 states in the party list vote: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony. This should award the party approximately 19.7 per cent of the vote – translating to 146 seats in the Bundestag. These projected results banish any notion that Germany has moved on from its bisected past Just in time for the weekend, the pollsters YouGov have released their first MRP survey, revealing the likely voting intention of Germans at a nationwide, state and constituency level.

Five days before Christmas, Germany has again been plunged into grief. Just after 7 p.m. local time yesterday in the city of Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, a black BMW ploughed through a Christmas market, killing at least five and injuring more than 200. Hundreds of locals were enjoying the festive market at the time, buying gifts and enjoying the festivities with friends and family. A man has been arrested in connection with the attack. For many Germans, yesterday’s attack will bring back painful memories The alleged perpetrator is a 50-year-old psychotherapist originally from Saudi Arabia who had been legally living in Germany since 2006. As of this morning, his motive remained unclear, although the authorities are investigating all possibilities.