After the AfD's victory in Saxony-Anhalt, attention shifted to the Bundestag general debate between Chancellor Merz and Alice Weidel. Weidel opened by declaring the end of black-red rule and attacking the budget as capitulation. Merz countered by calling the AfD a destructive force and equating its remigration plans with ethnic cleansing by origin and skin colour, prompting tumult and threats of expulsions by Bundestag president Klöckner.
The exchange fuelled verdicts on Merz's leadership, with former premier Haseloff calling his course political suicide, NRW premier Wüst pushing for a review toward an AfD ban, and Trump congratulating the AfD.
Separately, prosecutors searched properties linked to Berlin SPD lead candidate Steffen Krach on bribery suspicions ahead of the Berlin election.