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Published March 20, 2026 — last updated March 20, 2026
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is on the campaign trail in a state election that sees his CDU tied with the SPD, while Defense Minister Boris Pistorius departs for Asia to meet counterparts. Follow DW for the latest.
Friday is the last day of campaigning before Sunday’s state parliamentary elections in western Rhineland-Palatinate. (Image: Goldmann/picture alliance)
What you need to know
– Chancellor Friedrich Merz will join his party’s candidate in Rhineland-Palatinate on the final day of campaigning ahead of state parliamentary elections.
– Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is flying to Asia for a one-week trip to meet counterparts in Japan, Singapore and Australia.
– Pistorius said he sees no reason to bar the US from using Ramstein Air Base for operations related to the Iran conflict, after Tehran requested clarification from Berlin.
– A former state prosecutor accused of supplying classified police information to international drug gangs in exchange for cash awaits a verdict in Hanover.
Defense Minister Pistorius departs for Asia tour amid Iran uncertainty
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius left for a one-week trip to Japan, Singapore and Australia on Friday, meeting defense and security officials as Germany and partners navigate shifting geopolitical tensions linked to the war involving the US and Israel and Iran.
Pistorius said any German participation in operations to secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would depend on the situation after a ceasefire and whether participation could occur under an international mandate.
Tehran has formally asked Berlin to clarify the role of Ramstein Air Base in US operations against Iran. The German Foreign Office has not publicly answered the query; Pistorius said there is currently no reason to doubt the legality of Ramstein’s use.
Prosecutor accused of taking bribes from international drug gangs awaits verdict
A former state prosecutor in Hanover and an alleged accomplice face sentencing after a trial over bribery and passing sensitive police information to international drug gangs in exchange for cash.
Prosecutors say the former lawyer provided inside information between June 2020 and March 2021 that helped gangs evade police raids; in at least one case, suspects fled abroad before a raid. One fugitive was reportedly arrested in the United Arab Emirates in February.
An earlier investigation in 2022 was dropped in October 2023 for lack of evidence, then reopened in June 2024 after new testimony in a separate organized-crime case. That testimony led to a trial that began in April 2025.
In his closing statement, the ex-prosecutor admitted guilt on nine of 14 charges, apologizing and expressing regret. State prosecutors are seeking eight-and-a-half years in prison for the lawyer and a one-year-and-ten-month suspended sentence for his alleged accomplice. Days earlier, a gang logistics figure linked to the case received an 11½-year sentence.
Chancellor Merz to hit campaign trail ahead of Sunday state elections
Chancellor Friedrich Merz traveled to Rhineland-Palatinate to support CDU candidate Gordon Schneider in the campaign’s final hours before Sunday’s state parliamentary vote. The SPD, which has governed the state for 35 years, has seen declining support and is polling neck-and-neck with the CDU.
Incumbent State Premier Alexander Schweitzer (SPD) campaigned in his hometown of Landau while Merz and Schneider sought votes in nearby Bad Dürkheim as both sides made final appeals to voters.
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Morgen from the Bonn newsroom. Today’s headlines include the sentencing of a prosecutor accused of aiding international drug gangs, Merz’s final campaign appearances in Rhineland-Palatinate, and Pistorius’s Asia trip to coordinate with allies amid broader international tensions. Stay tuned to DW for updates throughout the day.