Chancellor Angela Merkel's Chief of Staff said on Sunday he was confident Germany's sister conservative parties, whose unity is threatened by a row over migrant policy just a year before a federal election, would soon sort out their differences. – Reuters
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union suffered an embarrassing drubbing in her own constituency on Sunday, with voters in local parliamentary elections kicking the party into third place while giving a boost to her new nemesis: the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany party. – Washington Post
In her decade in office, chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly won elections with the simple motto: trust me. But Sunday’s vote in her home region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has stretched that trust to breaking point. – Financial Times
German and Latvian troops have begin a joint exercise in Latvia, not far from the Russian border, as part of a broad drive by NATO to shore up air defenses against a possible Russian attack. – Reuters
Editorial: German voters have been unhappy with Angela Merkel’s refugee plans for almost a year, and on Sunday they sent the Chancellor an electoral warning she can’t easily ignore. The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, or AfD, beat Mrs. Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) for second place in legislative elections in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, the Chancellor’s home state. – Wall Street Journal