02/23/2026February 23, 2026 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's party wants to end the option of employees getting a sick note by phone. Its coalition partner, however, opposes the proposal. DW has the latest. Merz has criticized the average of 14.5 sick days taken by employees in GermanyImage: Thilo Schmuelgen/REUTERS Skip next section
Voting is under way in a knife-edge parliamentary election in the Netherlands that polls suggest could again be won by the far-right Freedom party (PVV) of Geert Wilders, although there is little chance of it being part of the next government. The PVV, which finished a shock first in the last election and formed a short-lived, four-party rightwing coalition, has seen its once sizeable lead fade fast. With nearly half the electorate undecided, analysts say the race is too tight to call.
The Bundestag voted on Wednesday to get rid of a fast-track citizenship law put in place under the previous government led by center-left Social Democrat (SPD) Olaf Scholz. The vote passed with ease, because the proposal is one of very few from the coalition government to meet the approval of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), the largest opposition party. In total, 450 members of the lower house of parliament voted in favor, 134 opposed, and two abstained.
Self-described Trumpist' Andrej Babis has campaigned on pledges of welfare and halting military aid to Ukraine. Czechs are casting their ballots in a two-day general election, in which the party of populist billionaire Andrej Babis is expected to garner the most votes but not secure a majority, raising concerns that Ukraine ally the Czech Republic may draw closer to pro-Russian European Union countries Hungary and Slovakia.
In June, a long-standing effort to sell off massive chunks of federal land grew closer to fruition than ever before when a provision mandating such sales was slipped into President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill." The bill passed, and selling public lands easily could have followed. But it didn't, largely due to a fierce public outcry led not just by pro-public land progressives but by a surprisingly broad coalition that included horseback riders, ATVers, backpackers, birdwatchers, hunters, anglers and tribal nations
"I am going into the budget negotiations this autumn seeking the very best possible outcome for students and their families, of course by seeking discounts to the student contribution fee."
