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Germany's summer crisis: A cabinet reshuffle gone wrong?

36:07

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July 31, 2026

An ad-hoc cabinet reshuffle backfired on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. With political egos flying and hurt feelings all around, could inner-party frustration threaten government stability? DW's Michaela Küfner and Nina Haase separate political drama from the facts with Reuters' Chief Correspondent Andreas Rinke: Is Merz better at strengthening his government or creating problems for himself?

CHAPTERS

00:00 Egos flying 

02:31 Saxony-Anhalt test 

5:26 Merz's real Challenge 

6:38 Personnel carousel 

09:45 New faces, new strategy? 

12:49 WhatsApp politics 

15:24 Fallout from Spahn's exit 

20:06 12-Vote Majority 

21:45 Lessons from the Merkel Era 

24:45 AfD Leads Polls 

26:43 Unpopularity Contest 

32:48 Can stability return? 


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