#german-politics

#german-politics

After the Supreme Court declared the tariffs illegal, Trump responded by declaring a new flat rate of 15% tariffs on all trading partners. As such, the EU has paused its ratification of the agreement as it waits to see what will happen with the new tariffs.

She had intended to speak about the flashpoints in international politics, Greenland and Ukraine, and US President Donald Trump, but the journalists present kept returning to the issue of the Mercosur agreement and how her party scuppered its ratification. Mercosur, the EU's major trade deal with the four South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, was meant to be a sign of hope in a world of increasing nationalism a boost to trade based on rules, not punitive tariffs.

Now is not the time to ease sanctions, for whatever reason. Moscow continues to show no willingness to negotiate and pressure on the Kremlin must increase. Germany and its allies will continue backing Ukraine, and the Iran conflict will not distract from that effort.

Merz has been under pressure following the US intervention in Venezuela. His reaction to the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by the US military, was somewhat restrained and vague. The German chancellor described it as a "complex situation," also from a legal perspective, which the German government would now carefully examine. That was all. The words "breach of international law" did not pass the lips of the chancellor or his spokespeople.

While the previous law required most newly installed heating systems to use at least 65% renewable energy, often with a heat pump, the reformed legislation will allow households to keep using oil and gas. It also removes a mandate for expert consultation when installing a new heating system.

Slight losses for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc of Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union(CDU/CSU), and slight gains for their coalition partner, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). These are the key findings of the ARD-Deutschlandtrend opinion poll conducted by the infratest-dimap institute, which surveyed around 1,300 representative voters between February 2 and 4. The majority of respondents deplore inequality in German society; they also see the gap between rich and poor widening.