2025 Political Year-End Review Highlights German Government and Rising Bundestag Reprimands

The 2025 Elefantenrunde concluded with a broad political assessment of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government and pressing issues shaping Germany's future. The traditional end-of-year discussion saw political figures including Vassili, Ciara, Fabian Köster from the "heute show," and Yasmine M’Barek from "ZEIT" critique the government's performance and the global order shifts, particularly those influenced by US President Donald Trump. Debates also centered on the contentious reintroduction of mandatory military service and upcoming state elections, while participants expressed cautious optimism about a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict in 2026.

Alongside policy discourse, Germany’s Bundestag has experienced a marked increase in member reprimands, signaling growing tensions within parliamentary proceedings. Since the start of the 21st legislative period in March 2025, 42 formal reprimands have been issued over nine months, nearly a third of the total from the previous three and a half year period. Most reprimands targeted members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, with 35 instances, and 7 issued to the far-left Linkspartei. Prominent reprimanded politicians include AfD’s Martin Reichardt with seven, Stephan Brandner with four, and Linkspartei’s Luigi Pantisano also with four. Reprimands addressed rude conduct such as insults towards Chancellor Merz and derogatory remarks during debates.

Bundestag President Julia Klöckner implemented a more stringent penalty system, elevating fines for misconduct to up to 4,000 euros for repeated offenses, underscoring a commitment to preserving respect and decorum regardless of political alignment. This effort builds on earlier critiques of parliamentary tone by former Bundestag President Bärbel Bas.

As Germany enters 2026, the political landscape reflects both the challenges of governance amid geopolitical uncertainty and heightened demands for parliamentary conduct reform, providing a clear snapshot of a pivotal year in German politics.