Germany in January 2026: the most important developments in politics
In Germany in January 2026, politics was dominated by Chancellor Friedrich Merz's positioning of Europe toward the United States. On 17 January he warned that the US was turning away from a rules-based order, and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said ties between the US and Europe were disintegrating. At the World Economic Forum in Davos on 22 January, Merz said the old world order was unraveling and a new era of great power politics had begun, while cautioning Europe not to rush to write off transatlantic ties. On 29 January, in a major foreign policy speech, he called for Europe to adopt a "language of power", rejected setting a concrete date for Ukraine's EU membership and ruled out separate German talks with Vladimir Putin.
Greenland was the main point of friction. Merz said he expected the US to take part in NATO efforts to secure the island, and Berlin vowed a coordinated European response to Donald Trump's tariff threats over it. Germany said its planned mission to Greenland was meant to counter perceived threats from Russia and China, and Merz met Danish and Greenlandic leaders in Berlin on 27 January. Germany, Norway and Sweden declined to join Trump's proposed "Board of Peace", and German officials called Trump's remark that Europe would be "speaking German" without a US-led victory in World War II a distortion of history.
On other foreign policy, Merz visited India on 12 and 13 January, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the partnership would enter a "limitless" phase in strategic sectors. On 15 January Merz acknowledged a "strategic mistake" in Germany's past Russia policy and later urged the EU to rebalance its ties with Moscow; Germany also expelled a Russian diplomat. Merz predicted change in Iran and said the government's days were numbered, and Tehran summoned the German ambassador on 29 January. He also sought closer political ties with Italy's Giorgia Meloni.
At home, the SPD proposed an inheritance tax reform that drew criticism from the CDU, the governing parties planned a gradual phase-out of the citizen's income benefit, and the AfD presented its government program for Saxony-Anhalt.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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