Germany news: Greens and CDU agree Baden-Württemberg deal

Bundesliga side Freiburg has turned its focus to the return leg after a late Europa League semifinal defeat, insisting that belief remains strong.

Players said frustration from the 2-1 stoppage-time loss at Sporting Braga has already been channeled into motivation for the decisive home clash.

"Nothing is over," goalkeeper Noah Atubolu said, adding that "everything is possible in the second leg." Coach Julian Schuster also pointed to the team's resilience, saying the performance showed Freiburg can compete "on equal terms."

Freiburg can take confidence from its strong home record in Europe, having won every match this campaign at the Europa-Park Stadium.

The squad now aims to turn anger into energy, said defender Philipp Treu, with players highlighting the next game as a chance to respond. "We showed what we can do," he said, adding the team is ready to "go all in" for a place in the Istanbul final.

Income inequality in Germany has widened since the COVID-19 pandemic, with executive pay rising sharply while real wages remain below pre-2019 levels, an analysis for the charity Oxfam has found.

The report says pay for 25 CEOs in the DAX 40 increased 56% since 2019, from about €4.5 million ($5.3 million) to nearly €7 million, while workers' real incomes have yet to fully recover.

Globally, Oxfam said, top executive pay rose 54% between 2019 and 2025, while real wages for workers dropped 12% over the same period. Average CEO compensation climbed from $5.5 million to $8.4 million dollars, meaning a typical worker would need about 490 years to earn the same amount.

"While the purchasing power of employees in Germany is still weaker on average than in 2019, and the current surge in inflation is burdening many households, the salaries of top managers are exploding," said Manuel Schmitt, social inequality expert at Oxfam.

"They are becoming increasingly detached from the reality of many people who already have to ask themselves daily how they will pay for energy, rent, and food. This ever-increasing inequality is also a threat to our democracy."

The report also found that nearly 1,000 billionaires received a combined $79 billion in dividends in 2025. On average, a billionaire earned more from dividends in under two hours than a worker makes in a year.

Germany has recorded the highest number of right-wing violent crimes since 2016, according to government data.

A response to a query by the socialist Left Party showed 1,598 such offenses were reported to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) for 2025 — up from 1,488 the previous year.

Most cases involved bodily harm or aggravated assault, the DPA news agency cited the response as saying. The figures can still rise due to delayed reporting or cases where political motives are identified later.

Overall right-wing crime slightly declined, the BKA said, falling to 42,544 cases from 42,788. Typical offenses include incitement, insults, and defamation of the state, while violent crimes range from assault to arson and public order offenses.

Relative to population, eastern states recorded the highest rates. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania led with 145 offenses per 100,000 residents, followed by Saxony-Anhalt with 142 and Brandenburg with 139 — all three eastern states were well above the national average of 51. The southern, wealthy states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg had the lowest rates at 28.

Authorities note the figures also reflect how intensively police investigate politically motivated crime. In Brandenburg, a surge in 2024 was linked to rising polarization and election-related tensions.

The Green Party and conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) have reached a coalition agreement in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg after weeks of tough negotiations.

Lead negotiators Cem Özdemir from the Greens and Manuel Hagel from the CDU said both sides had fought hard, describing the outcome as more than a minimal compromise and a "reform coalition."

Outgoing state premier Winfried Kretschmann, who has led the state since 2011, is set to be succeeded by his fellow Green Özdemir. The deal is set to be presented next week, with party approval and Özdemir’s planned election as state premier on May 13 to follow.

The coalition partners have already decided on the allocation of state ministries. A black-green alliance of the Greens and conservatives in Germany is also known as a "pizza coalition" after young politicians from the CDU and Greens started meeting informally in a pizzeria in Bonn when the city was still Germany's capital.

As the junior partner, the CDU takes key portfolios, including the interior, economy and transport ministries, while the Greens will oversee finance, social affairs, environment and housing. Key personnel decisions remain unresolved, including whether CDU state head Hagel will become interior minister.

Both parties, which have governed together since 2016, ended up tied at 56 seats each after the March 8 election, complicating talks and fueling tensions during the campaign.

Özdemir, who is to become the first German state premier of Turkish heritage, said the coalition would not simply split responsibilities along party lines. Instead, he stressed a shared approach on security, climate policy and economic strength. He pledged to combine climate protection with economic growth while easing burdens on businesses.

Hagel said the government aimed to deliver practical solutions rather than headlines, highlighting education and equal opportunity as core priorities.

Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn.

You join us as after Germany's Greens and the conservative Christian Democrats announce they have struck a deal on governing the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg.

The coalition formed is expected to see well-known Green figure Cem Özedemir take over from his long-serving predecessor as state minister.

Meanwhile, trade unions plan to stage hundreds of May Day rallies across the country to protest job cuts and reductions to social benefits.

Stick with us here for more on those and other stories that Germany is talking about today.