Government under scrutiny amid budget debate – DW – 11/26/2025

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will begin a three-day state visit to Spain on Wednesday.

Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will welcome Steinmeier and his wife Elke Buddenbender in Madrid, who will attend a state banquet hosted by the royal couple in the evening.

The President’s Office has said that the purpose of the visit is to highlight the good relations between Germany and Spain.

Among other things, King Felipe and Steinmeier are scheduled to open a German-Spanish economic forum together on Thursday.

Steinmeier also plans to meet with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, with talks likely to focus on the war in Ukraine.

At the end of his trip, Steinmeier will visit the Basque region, where he plans to visit the town of Guernica in memory of the victims of the devastating German bombing of April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War.

In the attack, German “Condor Legion” aircraft bombed the small town, destroying three-quarters of it and killing more than 1,500 of its inhabitants.

It was the first major bombing attack on the population of a defenseless city in European history.

The “Generaldebate”, or general debate, is a traditional event in the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament.

The debate focuses on the discussion of the government budget for 2026, but is also often used by opposition parties to criticize the policies of the ruling parties.

It will be opened by the leader of the largest opposition force, Alice Weidel, who heads the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democrats (CDU) will next defend the record of his coalition government with the Social Democrats (SPD), which took power in May.

After this other parties will come on stage.

In total the debate has been planned for four hours.

good day From DW’s newsroom in Bonn!

You join our coverage as the German parliament, or Bundestag, holds its so-called general debate on government policy ahead of a vote on the 2026 budget.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz will defend the direction taken by his coalition government in a major speech, while other parties are likely to go on the attack.

It comes as the government’s pension package comes under heavy criticism, including from Merz’s own CDU members and employers.

We’ll bring you reports from the day’s events in Parliament and other events in Europe’s largest economy on 26 November.