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Merz’s election nightmare continues

Politico EU Monday 21 September 2026, 04:05 UTC By Zoya Sheftalovich, Nicholas Vinocur, Dionisios Sturis 45 min read
Key Points

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music Two state elections pile more pressure on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz — raising fresh questions about his leadership and what a weaker Germany could mean for the rest of Europe. Zoya Sheftalovich and Nick Vinocur also look at the growing fear over Russian hybrid attacks, as EU foreign ministers meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York to discuss how Europe should respond if one of those attacks turns deadly. And...

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Two state elections pile more pressure on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz — raising fresh questions about his leadership and what a weaker Germany could mean for the rest of Europe.

Zoya Sheftalovich and Nick Vinocur also look at the growing fear over Russian hybrid attacks, as EU foreign ministers meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York to discuss how Europe should respond if one of those attacks turns deadly.

And back in Brussels, some EU officials are being pushed beyond the Schuman bubble as the fight over savings in the next seven-year budget gets very real.

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Merz (PERSON) Spotify Apple Music (ORG) German (ORG) Friedrich Merz (PERSON) Germany (LOCATION) Europe (LOCATION) Zoya Sheftalovich (PERSON) Nick Vinocur (PERSON) Russian (ORG) EU (ORG) the United Nations General Assembly (ORG) New York (LOCATION) Brussels (LOCATION) Schuman (PERSON)
Originally published by Politico EU Read original →

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