Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Zurück im Bundestag, zurück auf Fraktionsebene: SPD und Union starten mit zwei Pressekonferenzen in das politische Jahr. Beide liefern sehr unterschiedliche Antworten auf die wirtschaftliche Lage. Auslöser ist das neue SPD-Konzept zur Erbschaftsteuer, das Fragen von Gerechtigkeit, Wachstum und Timing aufwirft. Während die SPD eine Reform noch in diesem Jahr anpeilt, warnt die Union vor einem wachstumsfeindlichen Signal.  Rixa Fürsen und Rasmus Buchsteiner ordnen ein, warum es um mehr geht als eine einzelne Steuer: um Profilbildung zum Jahresauftakt, die Arbeitsweise der Koalition, das ausstehende Urteil des Bundesverfassungsgerichts und die Frage, wie konfliktfähig Schwarz-Rot 2026 wirklich ist. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig. Für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Der Berlin Playbook-Newsletter bietet jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. Jetzt kostenlos abonnieren. Mehr von Host und POLITICO Executive Editor Gordon Repinski: Instagram: @gordon.repinski | X: @GordonRepinski. POLITICO Deutschland – ein Angebot der Axel Springer Deutschland GmbH Axel-Springer-Straße 65, 10888 Berlin Tel: +49 (30) 2591 0 information@axelspringer.de Sitz: Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg, HRB 196159 B USt-IdNr: DE 214 852 390 Geschäftsführer: Carolin Hulshoff Pol, Mathias Sanchez Luna

Europeans’ world-leading drinking habits are putting their health at risk, but governments are failing to use higher taxes to help curb consumption, warned the World Health Organization. Beer has become more affordable in 11 EU countries since 2022, and less affordable in six, the WHO report revealed Tuesday. There was a similar but even more dramatic trend for spirits, which became more affordable in 17 EU countries and less affordable in two. And for wine, 14 EU countries do not tax it at all, including big producers Italy and Spain, the report found. The EU includes seven of the 10 countries with the highest per-capita alcohol consumption globally, with Romania, Latvia and Czechia among the biggest drinkers. Alcohol is a major driver of cancer, with risk scaling alongside higher consumption. It’s also linked to a wide range of illnesses including cardiovascular disease and depression, all of which are adding pressure to stretched health systems. The WHO said governments should target alcohol consumption to protect people from its ill effects. Increasing the cost of booze through taxes is one of the most effective measures governments can take, the WHO said. Yet, some EU countries have minimal or no taxes on certain types of alcohol. The fact that more than half of EU countries don’t tax wine at all is “unusual” by international standards, WHO economist Anne-Marie Perucic said. She pointed out that the more affordable alcohol is, the more people consume. “Excluding a product is not common. It’s always for political reasons, socio-economic reasons [like] trying to protect the local industry. Clearly, it doesn’t make sense from a health perspective,” Perucic told POLITICO. Those 14 countries span the EU’s northern and central regions, such as Germany, Austria and Bulgaria. “More affordable alcohol drives violence, injuries and disease,” said Etienne Krug, director of the WHO’s department of health determinants, promotion and prevention. “While industry profits, the public often carries the health consequences and society the economic costs.” The EU has touted its plans to protect its wine industry from threats including declining consumption and climate change. EU institutions agreed a package of measures to prop up the sector in December. Meanwhile, the European Commission recently backed down from proposing an EU-wide tax on alcopops; the sweet, pre-mixed alcoholic drinks that taste like sodas, as part of its Safe Hearts plan.  In a separate report, the WHO reported that sugary drinks have also become more affordable in 13 EU countries since 2022, data published in a separate WHO report found. A diet high in sugar is linked to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver disease and certain cancers.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music In Sachsen-Anhalt stellen sich der CDU-Vorstand, die Fraktion aber auch die Koalitionspartner SPD und FDP hinter die Entscheidung von Ministerpräsident Reiner Haseloff, sich Ende Januar zurückzuziehen.  Damit macht er den Weg frei für Wirtschaftsminister und CDU-Spitzenkandidat Sven Schulze. Der Wechsel kommt wenige Monate vor der Landtagswahl und soll verhindern, dass die AfD stärkste Kraft wird und damit der erste Ministerpräsident der Alternative ins Amt kommt. Rixa Fürsen bespricht mit Nikolaus Doll von der WELT, warum dieser Schritt so spät erfolgt und welche Chancen Schulze jetzt noch hat. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview erklärt Sepp Müller, Vorsitzender der CDU Landesgruppe Sachsen-Anhalt im Bundestag, warum die Union trotz deutlichem Rückstand an einen Wahlsieg glaubt und weshalb Koalitionen mit AfD oder Linken ausgeschlossen bleiben. Auf Bundesebene stellt die SPD heute ihr Konzept für eine Reform der Erbschaftsteuer vor. Jasper Bennink ordnet ein, was der geplante “Lebensfreibetrag” bedeutet, wie groß bzw. klein die erwarteten Mehreinnahmen sind und wie aus dem SPD-Vorhaben ein Regierungsvorhaben werden könnte. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig. Für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Der Berlin Playbook-Newsletter bietet jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. Jetzt kostenlos abonnieren. Mehr von Host und POLITICO Executive Editor Gordon Repinski: Instagram: @gordon.repinski | X: @GordonRepinski. POLITICO Deutschland – ein Angebot der Axel Springer Deutschland GmbH Axel-Springer-Straße 65, 10888 Berlin Tel: +49 (30) 2591 0 information@axelspringer.de Sitz: Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg, HRB 196159 B USt-IdNr: DE 214 852 390 Geschäftsführer: Carolin Hulshoff Pol, Mathias Sanchez Luna

LONDON — Britain’s former finance minister Nadhim Zahawi joined Reform UK Monday, becoming the highest-profile Conservative to defect to Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist party. The ex-chancellor — unveiled as the surprise guest at a press conference in London — joins a growing list of allies of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to have jumped ship, alongside the former MPs Nadine Dorries, Andrea Jenkyns, Jake Berry and Ross Thomson. The Iraqi-born multimillionaire founder of YouGov, a leading polling firm, said he had rejected a “comfortable retirement” away from the headlines to aid Reform’s “glorious revolution.” Farage’s party is leading U.K. opinion polling ahead of the 2029 general election. Zahawi told journalists he worried that Britain “could tip over into civil unrest.” He added: “I think the country is facing a national emergency on the economy, on our open borders.” Farage’s newest recruit was sacked as the chair of the Conservative Party in 2023 after an investigation found he had not been sufficiently transparent about his private dealings with Britain’s tax authority. After leaving frontline politics, Zahawi — who has extensive business relationships in the Middle East — sought backers for an unsuccessful bid to buy the Daily Telegraph newspaper. Reports at the time suggested that he was acting as a middleman between parties including the United Arab Emirates. Zahawi said Monday of his sacking: “And at some stage HMRC decided that I need to pay more tax on that business, which I did …the mistake I made was not to be specific about the settlement in my declarations to the Cabinet Office.” The two men have sparred in public life for years. In a 2015 tweet — which was deleted Monday — Zahawi called comments by Farage “offensive and racist” and said he would be “frightened” to live in a country run by him after Farage said it was “ludicrous” that employers could not choose British workers over Polish ones. Zahawi told LBC radio at the time: “It’s a remark that [Nazi minister Joseph] Goebbels would be proud of.” In 2022 Farage said Zahawi’s elevation to chancellor showed “all he’s interested in is climbing that greasy pole.” Sitting beside Farage Monday, Zahawi denied that his move was careerist, or that he thought Farage was racist: “If I thought this man sitting next to me in any way had an issue with people of my colour or my background who have come to this country, who have integrated, assimilated, are proud of this country, worked hard in this country, paid millions of pounds in taxes in this country, invested in the country, I wouldn’t be sitting next to him.” Zahawi was also the U.K. vaccines minister during the Covid-19 pandemic — but deflected what he called “stupid” questions about Aseem Malhotra, an adviser to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who linked the vaccines to cancer in Britain’s royal family while on stage at Reform’s conference in September. He said he began talks with Nigel Farage after Nick Candy, the former Tory donor and property tycoon, was recruited as Reform’s treasurer in December 2024, but only let his Tory membership lapse in December 2025. | Tolga Akmen/EPA He declined to answer directly whether he had sought assurances from Farage about Reform’s policy on vaccines. Instead, he said: “I would not be sitting here, nor would Nigel be sitting next to me, if we didn’t agree that we did the right thing for the nation to get the vaccine program to the success that it achieved.” Farage praised “centuries” of British work on vaccines but defended the platform given to Malhotra on free speech grounds. Zahawi said he defected because he had come to the conclusion that the Conservative Party was a “defunct brand” that could no longer form the next government. He insisted he had been given “no promises, at all” about what role he would play — but did not rule out becoming a Reform MP or peer. He said he began talks with Farage after Nick Candy, the former Tory donor and property tycoon, was recruited as Reform’s treasurer in December 2024, but only let his Tory membership lapse in December 2025. Labour Party Chair Anna Turley said the defection showed that “Reform UK has no shame. Nadhim Zahawi is a discredited and disgraced politician who will be forever tied to the Tories’ shameful record of failure in government.” The Lib Dem MP for Zahawi’s old seat of Stratford-upon-Avon, Manuela Perteghella, added: “Reform is becoming a retirement home for disgraced former Conservative ministers.” Farage insisted Reform was not the “Conservative Party 2.0,” but said but “our weakness is we lack frontline experience” from people who have run governments.  He said Zahawi’s role will be outlined in the coming weeks, but added that Zahawi had raised a “huge amount of money” for the Conservative Party. “We’re hoping he’ll do much the same for us,” Farage grinned.

LONDON — Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice has floated replacing the Office for Budget Responsibility with a rotating panel of experts to produce economic forecasts for the U.K. government.  In an interview with POLITICO, Tice attacked the OBR’s “woeful” forecasts and proposed replacing it with a revolving panel of the top economic forecasters in the country, who would produce their own estimates of the U.K.’s fiscal health. “What’s the point of them if you’re not going to do your job properly?” Tice said of Britain’s under-fire fiscal watchdog. “There is a turgid reluctance to accept the process of continuous improvement.” “If you didn’t have the OBR, what are you replacing [it with]? Well, maybe you could have a revolving panel of the top eight economic forecasters who have, twice a year, a mandate to produce their own estimate of the key six [to] eight metrics,” he added. His comments follow previous suggestions from Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage to abolish the body, but it has not yet been clear what the party would propose to take its place. As Reform continues to top U.K. opinion polls, the development of the party’s economic agenda has been closely watched by the financial sector and beyond. The OBR has come under attack for its forecasting record from both sides of the political aisle. It faced significant scrutiny in November after its economic and fiscal outlook, which contained detailed information on the contents of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn budget, was accidentally made accessible hours before she began her official announcement. OBR Chair Richard Hughes stepped down as a result of the leak. The OBR has also been criticized for its outsized influence on government spending, given that its forecasts can have a significant impact on which policies the Treasury decides to include in the budget. “The OBR is literally telling the government how to run its policy,” Tice said. “The government comes up with an idea, and it says to the OBR ‘what’s the consequence of this?’” “[The OBR] say this is our forecast, so the government says I can’t do that or I can do that, and then you find out that the OBR forecast was useless, not worth the paper it’s written on.” Tice joins former Prime Minister Liz Truss in his criticism of the independent body. Truss, who also called for the OBR to be abolished, shunned the watchdog’s provision of an independent economic forecast and analysis for her 2022 mini budget, leading to market turmoil. One of the Labour Party’s first acts upon reaching government in July 2024 was to put in place a “budget responsibility” bill to enable the OBR to produce of its own volition a forecast on major government tax or spending plans.

LONDON — If there’s one thing Keir Starmer has mastered in office, it’s changing his mind. The PM has been pushed by his backbenchers toward a flurry of about-turns since entering Downing Street just 18 months ago.  Starmer’s vast parliamentary majority hasn’t stopped him feeling the pressure — and has meant mischievous MPs are less worried their antics will topple the government.  POLITICO recaps 7 occasions MPs mounted objections to the government’s agenda — and forced the PM into a spin. Expect this list to get a few more updates… PUB BUSINESS RATES  Getting on the wrong side of your local watering hole is never a good idea. Many Labour MPs realized that the hard way. Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her budget last year to slash a pandemic-era discount on business rates — taxes levied on firms — from 75 percent to 40 percent. Cue uproar from publicans. Labour MPs were barred from numerous boozers in protest at a sharp bill increase afflicting an already struggling hospitality sector. A £300 million lifeline for pubs, watering down some of the changes, is now being prepped. At least Treasury officials should now have a few more places to drown their sorrows. Time to U-turn: 43 days (Nov. 26, 2025 — Jan. 8, 2026). FARMERS’ INHERITANCE TAX  Part of Labour’s electoral success came from winning dozens of rural constituencies. But Britain’s farmers soon fell out of love with the government.  Reeves’ first budget slapped inheritance tax on farming estates worth more than £1 million from April 2026. Farmers drive tractors near Westminster ahead of a protest against inheritance tax rules on Nov. 19, 2024. | Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images Aimed at closing loopholes wealthy individuals use to avoid coughing up to the exchequer, the decision generated uproar from opposition parties (calling the measure the “family farm tax”) and farmers themselves, who drove tractors around Westminster playing “Baby Shark.”  Campaigners including TV presenter and newfound farmer Jeremy Clarkson joined the fight by highlighting that many farmers are asset rich but cash poor — so can’t fund increased inheritance taxes without flogging off their estates altogether. A mounting rebellion by rural Labour MPs (including Cumbria’s Markus Campbell-Savours, who lost the whip for voting against the budget resolution on inheritance tax) saw the government sneak out a threshold hike to £2.5 million just two days before Christmas, lowering the number of affected estates from 375 to 185. Why ever could that have been?  Time to U-turn: 419 days (Oct. 30, 2024 — Dec. 23, 2025). WINTER FUEL PAYMENTS  Labour’s election honeymoon ended abruptly just three and a half weeks into power after Reeves made an economic move no chancellor before her dared to take.  Reeves significantly tightened eligibility for winter fuel payments, a previously universal benefit helping the older generation with heating costs in the colder months.  Given pensioners are the cohort most likely to vote, the policy was seen as a big electoral gamble. It wasn’t previewed in Labour’s manifesto and made many newly elected MPs angsty.  After a battering in the subsequent local elections, the government swiftly confirmed all pensioners earning up to £35,000 would now be eligible for the cash. That’s one way of trying to bag the grey vote. Time until U-turn: 315 days (July 29, 2024 — June 9, 2025).  WELFARE REFORM Labour wanted to rein in Britain’s spiraling welfare bill, which never fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.  The government vowed to save around £5 billion by tightening eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), a benefit helping people in and out of work with long term health issues. It also said other health related benefits would be cut. However, Labour MPs worried about the impact on the most vulnerable (and nervously eyeing their inboxes) weren’t impressed. More than 100 signed an amendment that would have torpedoed the proposed reforms.  The government vowed to save around £5 billion by tightening eligibility for Personal Independence Payment. | Vuk Valcic via SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images In an initial concession, the government said existing PIP claimants wouldn’t be affected by any eligibility cuts. It wasn’t enough: Welfare Minister Stephen Timms was forced to confirm in the House of Commons during an actual, ongoing welfare debate that eligibility changes for future claimants would be delayed until a review was completed.  What started as £5 billion of savings didn’t reduce welfare costs whatsoever.  Time to U-turn: 101 days (Mar. 18, 2025 — June 27, 2025).  GROOMING GANGS INQUIRY  The widescale abuse of girls across Britain over decades reentered the political spotlight in early 2025 after numerous tweets from X owner Elon Musk. It led to calls for a specific national inquiry into the scandal. Starmer initially rejected this request, pointing to recommendations left unimplemented from a previous inquiry into child sexual abuse and arguing for a local approach. Starmer accused those critical of his stance (aka Musk) of spreading “lies and misinformation” and “amplifying what the far-right is saying.” Yet less than six months later, a rapid review from crossbench peer Louise Casey called for … a national inquiry. Starmer soon confirmed one would happen. Time to U-turn: 159 days (Jan. 6, 2025 — June 14, 2025).  ‘ISLAND OF STRANGERS’ Immigration is a hot-button issue in the U.K. — especially with Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage breathing down Starmer’s neck. The PM tried reflecting this in a speech last May, warning that Britain risked becoming an “island of strangers” without government action to curb migration. That triggered some of Starmer’s own MPs, who drew parallels with the notorious 1968 “rivers of blood” speech by politician Enoch Powell. The PM conceded he’d put a foot wrong month later, giving an Observer interview where he claimed to not be aware of the Powell connection. “I deeply regret using” the term, he said. Time to U-turn: 46 days (May 12, 2025 — June 27, 2025).  Immigration is a hot-button issue in the U.K. — especially with Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage breathing down Starmer’s neck. | Tolga Akmen/EPA TWO-CHILD BENEFIT CAP  Here’s the U-turn that took the longest to arrive — but left Labour MPs the happiest. Introduced by the previous Conservative government, a two-child welfare cap meant parents could only claim social security payments such as Universal Credit or tax credits for their first two children. Many Labour MPs saw it as a relic of the Tory austerity era. Yet just weeks into government, seven Labour MPs lost the whip for backing an amendment calling for it to be scrapped, highlighting Reeves’ preference for fiscal caution over easy wins.  A year and a half later, that disappeared out the window. Reeves embracing its removal in her budget last fall as a child poverty-busty measure got plenty of cheers from Labour MPs — though the cap’s continued popularity with some voters may open up a fresh vulnerability. Time until U-turn: 491 days (July 23, 2024 — Nov. 26, 2025).

BRUSSELS — Donald Trump blew up global efforts to cut emissions from shipping, and now the EU is terrified the U.S. president will do the same to any plans to tax carbon emissions from long-haul flights. The European Commission is studying whether to expand its existing carbon pricing scheme that forces airlines to pay for emissions from short- and medium-haul flights within Europe into a more ambitious effort covering all flights departing the bloc. If that happens, all international airlines flying out of Europe — including U.S. ones — would face higher costs, something that’s likely to stick in the craw of the Trump administration. “God only knows what the Trump administration will do” if Brussels expands its own Emissions Trading System to include transatlantic flights, a senior EU official told POLITICO. A big issue is how to ensure that the new system doesn’t end up charging only European airlines, which often complain about the higher regulatory burden they face compared with their non-EU rivals. The EU official said Commission experts are now “scratching their heads how you can, on the one hand, talk about extending the ETS worldwide … [but] also make sure that you have a bit of a level playing field,” meaning a system that doesn’t only penalize European carriers. Any new costs will hit airlines by 2027, following a Commission assessment that will be completed by July 1. Brussels has reason to be worried.  “Trump has made it very clear that he does not want any policies that harm business … So he does not want any environmental regulation,” said Marina Efthymiou, aviation management professor at Dublin City University. “We do have an administration with a bullying behavior threatening countries and even entities like the European Commission.” The new U.S. National Security Strategy, released last week, closely hews to Trump’s thinking and is scathing on climate efforts. “We reject the disastrous ‘climate change’ and ‘Net Zero’ ideologies that have so greatly harmed Europe, threaten the United States, and subsidize our adversaries,” it says. In October, the U.S. led efforts to prevent the International Maritime Organization from setting up a global tax to encourage commercial fleets to go green. The no-holds-barred push was personally led by Trump and even threatened negotiators with personal consequences if they went along with the measure. In October, the U.S. led efforts to prevent the International Maritime Organization from setting up a global tax aimed at encouraging commercial fleets to go green. | Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images This “will be a parameter to consider seriously from the European Commission” when it thinks about aviation, Efthymiou said. The airline industry hopes the prospect of a furious Trump will scare off the Commission. “The EU is not going to extend ETS to transatlantic flights because that will lead to a war,” said Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, the global airline lobby, at a November conference in Brussels. “And that is not a war that the EU will win.” EUROPEAN ETS VS. GLOBAL CORSIA In 2012, the EU began taxing aviation emissions through its cap-and-trade ETS, which covers all outgoing flights from the European Economic Area — meaning EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Switzerland and the U.K. later introduced similar schemes. In parallel, the U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organization was working on its own carbon reduction plan, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation. Given that fact, Brussels delayed imposing the ETS on flights to non-European destinations. The EU will now be examining the ICAO’s CORSIA to see if it meets the mark. “CORSIA lets airlines pay pennies for pollution — about €2.50 per passenger on a Paris-New York flight,” said Marte van der Graaf, aviation policy officer at green NGO Transport & Environment. Applying the ETS on the same route would cost “€92.40 per passenger based on 2024 traffic.” There are two reasons for such a big difference: the fourfold higher price for ETS credits compared with CORSIA credits, and the fact that “under CORSIA, airlines don’t pay for total emissions, but only for the increase above a fixed 2019 baseline,” Van der Graaf explained. “Thus, for a Paris-New York flight that emits an average of 131 tons of CO2, only 14 percent of emissions are offset under CORSIA. This means that, instead of covering the full 131 tons, the airline only has to purchase credits for approximately 18 tons.” Efthymiou, the professor, warned the price difference is projected to increase due to the progressive withdrawal of free ETS allowances granted to aviation. The U.N. scheme will become mandatory for all U.N. member countries in 2027 but will not cover domestic flights, including those in large countries such as the U.S., Russia and China. KEY DECISIONS By July 1, the Commission must release a report assessing the geographical coverage and environmental integrity of CORSIA. Based on this evaluation, the EU executive will propose either extending the ETS to all departing flights from the EU starting in 2027 or maintaining it for intra-EU flights only. Opposition to the ETS in the U.S. dates back to the Barack Obama administration. | Pete Souza/White House via Getty Images According to T&E, CORSIA doesn’t meet the EU’s climate goals. “Extending the scope of the EU ETS to all departing flights from 2027 could raise an extra €147 billion by 2040,” said Van der Graaf, noting that this money could support the production of greener aviation fuels to replace fossil kerosene. But according to Efthymiou, the Commission might decide to continue the current exemption “considering the very fragile political environment we currently have with a lunatic being in power,” she said, referring to Trump. “CORSIA has received a lot of criticism for sure … but the importance of CORSIA is that for the first time ever we have an agreement,” she added. “Even though that agreement might not be very ambitious, ICAO is the only entity with power to put an international regulation [into effect].” Regardless of what is decided in Brussels, Washington is prepared to fight. Opposition to the ETS in the U.S. dates back to the Barack Obama administration, when then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent a letter to the Commission opposing its application to American airlines. During the same term, the U.S. passed the EU ETS Prohibition Act, which gives Washington the power to prohibit American carriers from paying for European carbon pricing. John Thune, the Republican politician who proposed the bill, is now the majority leader of the U.S. Senate.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Friedrich Merz signalisiert erstmals Bereitschaft, einen möglichen Waffenstillstand in der Ukraine auch mit der Bundeswehr abzusichern. Hans von der Burchard ordnet ein, was „grundsätzlich nichts ausschließen“ für deutsche Soldaten bedeutet und warum die Stationierung in Polen oder Rumänien der erste Schritt in eine neue Ära ist. Szenenwechsel ins verschneite Kloster Seeon: Bei der Winterklausur der CSU humpelt Markus Söder nicht nur körperlich, sondern auch politisch. Rasmus Buchsteiner berichtet von der Stimmung vor Ort, warum Alexander Dobrindt im Hintergrund bleibt und wieso das neue Mantra der Christsozialen jetzt „Wirtschaft First“ lautet. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview stellt CSU-Landesgruppenchef Alexander Hoffmann klare Forderungen: Die Unternehmenssteuer soll rückwirkend zum 1. Januar 2026 sinken – notfalls auf Pump. Außerdem erklärt er, warum die Mütterrente eine „Gerechtigkeitsfrage“ ist, während beim Bürgergeld gespart werden muss. Und: Die FDP versucht es mit Humor. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann und Wolfgang Kubicki üben sich beim Dreikönigstreffen in Selbstironie und suchen die Harmonie in der „radikalen Mitte“. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig. Für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Der Berlin Playbook-Newsletter bietet jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. Jetzt kostenlos abonnieren. Mehr von Host und POLITICO Executive Editor Gordon Repinski: Instagram: @gordon.repinski | X: @GordonRepinski. POLITICO Deutschland – ein Angebot der Axel Springer Deutschland GmbH Axel-Springer-Straße 65, 10888 Berlin Tel: +49 (30) 2591 0 information@axelspringer.de Sitz: Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg, HRB 196159 B USt-IdNr: DE 214 852 390 Geschäftsführer: Carolin Hulshoff Pol, Mathias Sanchez Luna

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Im Kanzleramt kommt es zu einem überraschenden Einschnitt. Friedrich Merz trennt sich von seinem langjährigen Büroleiter Jacob Schrot. Der Schritt wirft Fragen auf, weil er nicht nur etwas über die Personalie selbst sagt, sondern auch über die Lage des Kanzlers. Nach einem Jahr als außenpolitisch präsenter Regierungschef steht Merz unter wachsendem Druck, innenpolitisch und wirtschaftlich zu liefern. Rixa Fürsen und Rasmus Buchsteiner ordnen ein, warum der Abschied auch mit einem fehlenden Wirtschaftsprofil zu tun hat und welche Erwartungen nun mit dem neuen Büroleiter Philipp Birkenmaier verbunden sind. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview erklärt Vanessa Zobel (CDU) aus dem Wirtschaftsausschuss des Bundestags und Mitglied im Parlamentskreis Mittelstand, warum der Mittelstand schnelle Signale braucht, weshalb Reformen Zeit brauchen und wo sie trotz schwacher Wachstumszahlen erste Anzeichen für Bewegung sieht. Außenpolitisch bleibt der Kanzler trotzdem gefordert. In Paris beginnt der erste Ukraine-Gipfel des Jahres. Hans von der Burchard gibt die wichtigsten Infos zum Treffen vorab. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig. Für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Der Berlin Playbook-Newsletter bietet jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. Jetzt kostenlos abonnieren. Mehr von Host und POLITICO Executive Editor Gordon Repinski: Instagram: @gordon.repinski | X: @GordonRepinski. POLITICO Deutschland – ein Angebot der Axel Springer Deutschland GmbH Axel-Springer-Straße 65, 10888 Berlin Tel: +49 (30) 2591 0 information@axelspringer.de Sitz: Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg, HRB 196159 B USt-IdNr: DE 214 852 390 Geschäftsführer: Carolin Hulshoff Pol, Mathias Sanchez Luna

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Zum Start ins neue politische Jahr spricht Gordon Repinski mit Ulf Poschardt, Herausgeber der „Premium-Gruppe“ des Axel Springer Verlags, zu der neben der WELT-Gruppe auch POLITICO Deutschland und Business Insider Deutschland gehören, über den Zustand der deutschen Politik und die Frage, ob vor dem Land ein Umbruch aus der Mitte oder von den Rändern steht. Im Zentrum des Gesprächs: die Zukunft der demokratischen Mitte, die Rolle des Journalismus und die wachsende Fragilität des politischen Systems. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt: Die Wirtschaft und Reformpolitik. Poschardt fordert eine radikale wirtschaftspolitische Wende. Steuervereinfachung, Abbau von Bürokratie, Neuordnung des Sozialstaats und Orientierung an Modellen wie Dänemark oder Ludwig Erhards sozialer Marktwirtschaft. Ein streitbares Gespräch über Macht, Medien, Verantwortung und die Frage, wie Deutschland politisch durch das Jahr 2026 kommen kann. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig. Für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Der Berlin Playbook-Newsletter bietet jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. Jetzt kostenlos abonnieren. Mehr von Host und POLITICO Executive Editor Gordon Repinski: Instagram: @gordon.repinski | X: @GordonRepinski. Legal Notice (Belgium) POLITICO SRL Forme sociale: Société à Responsabilité Limitée Siège social: Rue De La Loi 62, 1040 Bruxelles Numéro d’entreprise: 0526.900.436 RPM Bruxelles info@politico.eu www.politico.eu