Germany updates: Government should be 'center-right' — Spahn

Education authorities in the western German city of Düsseldorf have initiated disciplinary procedures against a teacher who has been on sick leave since 2009.

German news agency DPA cited a spokesperson for the Education Ministry with the information that city authorities had begun proceedings against the teacher.

The case became public when the teacher challenged a court order that the teacher be examined by a medical officer, that she subsequently lost.

According to the teacher's initial sick notes, she suffered from psychological issues. She submitted sick notes over the years without measures being taken to ascertain what the problem was.

The 18-year-old secretary general of the Federal Student Conference, Quentin Gärtner, has decried the mental state of many students in Germany's schools as a new school year begins.

"We are experiencing a crisis in the mental health of children and young people," Gärtner told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland media group.

"Millions of students are not doing well. Every day, young people contact me reporting bullying, discrimination, or panic attacks in class," Gärtner said.

He said that more than one in four students described their quality of life as poot.

The student representative said that there was a widespread shortage of school psychologists and social workers and the teachers were not able to provide this.

Gärtner has called for €100 billion ($117 billion) for schools, calling them: "critical infrastructure."

Markus Söder, leader of the CSU — the Bavarian sister-party to Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) — has questioned the deployment of German troops to Ukraine as part of NATO security guarantees for Kyiv.

The Bavarian leader's interview with the Rheinische Post newspaper came after German chancellor Friedrich Merz stopped just short of promising any further military commitments to Ukraine after the "Coalition of the Willing" meeting in Paris.

"I find it hard to imagine NATO troops being stationed there," Söder told Rheinische Post. "Russia would never accept that. It would be a preliminary step to Ukraine joining NATO."

The 58-year-old also questioned the German army's readiness for such a step, saying it could require a return to conscription for the armed forces.

"They are stretched to the limit, both financially and in terms of personnel. That is why conscription needs to be reintroduced. Ultimately, there will be no way around it," Söder added.

He also muted the possibility of having fighting-age Ukrainian men return to their home country to help secure the country's future while lamenting the welfare system that Germany introudced in 2022.

"Peace is not foreseeable at present," said Söder. "It is therefore legitimate to consider sending Ukrainians who are fit for military service back to their homeland to ensure security in their own country."

He pointed to Germany's welfare and unemployment payments, arguing that they meant that "compared to other European countries, we have a significantly lower proportion of Ukrainians in work."

"This needs to be changed urgently," he said.

Jens Spahn, the parliamentary group leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) believes the coalition government needs to shift more towards the center-right. This he said would align with the expectations of the people in the country.

"For ten years, Germany has been voting center-right by a majority, but is then governed by center-left governments," Spahn told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

“This is a dilemma that we in the black-red coalition can resolve if everyone understands it,” Spahn said and went on to call again for massive social cuts.

“We could save even more than ten percent on citizen's income,” said the Union faction leader.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right CDU/CSU alliance and its coalition partner, the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), make the current coalition a centrist government in practice.

Merz has emphasized that the welfare state is currently no longer financially viable. The coalition government is pushing for reforms, but there is disagreement in the coalition on how best to proceed.

While the SPD is open to reforms, it does not want to cut back on the social system.

The term "welfare state" often refers not only to benefits financed directly by tax revenues — such as the "citizen's benefit" system of basic income support — but also to social insurance systems for pensions, health care, and long-term care.

Guten Tag from the newsroom in Bonn and welcome to our Germany coverage.

The union faction leader in the the Bundestag, Jens Spahn, believes the coalition needs to shift more to the center-right to reflect the will of the people.

Meanwhile a student representative body is calling for €100 billion in additional funds for schools.

Stay with us for news and updates from Germany.