Germany’s Merz vows to stay despite ‘disaster’

German chancellor Friedrich Merz faces a crisis of confidence as exit polls show his party missed the threshold for representation in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The right-wing Alternative for Germany won there instead. Plus, Volkswagen is getting the boot from the Eurostoxx50 index. And Georgia’s Senator Jon Ossoff attempts to revitalise moderate politics in the upcoming US midterms.

Mentioned in this podcast:

German chancellor Merz vows to stay on despite ‘disaster’ in regional elections

Jon Ossoff’s Georgia race stirs talk of 2028 US presidential audition

Volkswagen ejected from European blue-chip index in blow to crisis-hit carmaker

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The FT News Briefing is produced by Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, Katya Kumkova, and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Kelly Garry. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips is the FT’s global head of audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music. 

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