World
Fuel prices rise in Germany, Merz keeps backing inside the CDU and Pistorius seeks deeper defense ties with the US
Der Spiegel highlighted record fuel prices in Germany, the CDU’s internal dispute over Friedrich Merz and Boris Pistorius’s trip to the Pentagon. The outlet reported that, despite growing criticism, the chancellor still has support within his party.
Fuel prices in Germany have climbed to new highs. Citing ADAC data, Der Spiegel reported that the average price of a liter of E10 gasoline reached more than 2.27 euros on Sunday, while diesel stood at 2.40 euros, close to its historic peak.
According to reporting referenced by the magazine, several factors are driving the increase. They include blocked sea routes caused by armed conflicts, Germany’s need to import part of its gasoline, diesel and kerosene supply, and damage to refineries in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait during the war with Iran, along with Ukrainian strikes targeting facilities in Russia.
Der Spiegel added that oil companies are benefiting strongly from the situation, reviving debate in Germany over a windfall tax, a price cap and one-off payments for drivers in need.
In domestic politics, the crisis inside the CDU remains focused on the future of Friedrich Merz. After the party’s poor result in Saxony-Anhalt, doubts about his leadership intensified, although the German outlet stressed that not everyone is joining calls for him to step aside.
Among those still supporting him, Der Spiegel named Gitta Connemann, the federal government’s commissioner for small and medium-sized businesses, who praised Merz for sticking to his reform course. It also cited Daniel Peters, the CDU’s lead candidate in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Boris Rhein, minister-president of Hesse, both of whom criticized the ongoing debate over personnel.
According to the magazine, the argument over Merz’s future is unlikely to end before the elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
At the same time, Boris Pistorius traveled to Washington for a meeting at the Pentagon with Pete Hegseth. Der Spiegel said the two men have clashed before, but that the German defense minister now wants to start a new chapter.
To that end, his ministry prepared a broad declaration of intent that both officials are expected to sign. Before leaving for the United States, Pistorius said, according to the magazine, that Germany and the United States want to deepen their defense-industrial cooperation.
The German proposal centers on offering industrial capacity, skilled labor and technological know-how to speed up and expand the production of US weapons systems. Der Spiegel linked that offer to Washington’s need to replenish stocks of air-defense missiles and cruise missiles after strikes on Iran and the regime’s counterattacks.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
