Highly Unpopular German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Fights Back Against His Party’s Effort to Replace Him With a Younger Regional Leader

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CDU is turning on Merz.

We have reported here on TGP about the almost constant feature of the Euro-Globalist ‘leaders’ of nowadays: dismal poll numbers.

Whether we’re talking Uk’s Starmer or France’s Macron, the story is the same: they cling to power even though a vast majority of voters would rather have them go.

The same also applies to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is completing one year in power.

The ZDF Politbarometer poll from late May shows Merz’s popularity stands at just 26% of Germans rating his work as ‘eher zufrieden’ (rather satisfied), with as much as 71% saying he does an ‘eher schlechter Job’ (rather poor job).

Bad as this is, it’s still a bit of relief from early May, when the ARD Deutschlandtrend recorded historic low numbers of only 16% satisfied with Merz, and stunning 83% dissatisfied. That’s the worst poll numbers for any sitting chancellor since the survey began in 1997.

So, it’s hardly surprising that his own CDU party is articulating a new, younger leader to substitute him.

BILD reported (translated from the German):

“Now Friedrich Merz (70, CDU) has had enough with the speculation about a chancellor swap with the much younger [North Rhine-Westphalia] state leader Hendrik Wüst (50, CDU). BILD heard in the chancellor’s environment that this was a ‘naïve idea’. This testifies to a ‘dangerous desire to ignite’. It is ‘always easier to talk about personnel than to seriously deal with income tax rates or the care reform’.”

Merz’s allies warn of ‘wild speculation’, but in a govern with an unstable 12-vote majority, everything is possible.

“’The Merz people see the “stability in the Bundestag endangered’. In view of the world crises, this is ‘doubly negligent’. Anyone who makes this speculation is doing the business of the AfD and robbing the political center of authority.”

thegatewaypundit

Portuguese police search Socialist Party headquarters in corruption probe

2 Lgo do Rato – Google Maps

Portuguese police have searched the Lisbon headquarters of the country’s Socialist Party (PS) as part of a corruption investigation into the awarding of public contracts, the Judicial Police (PJ) has said.

The operation, codenamed Imergente, has so far led to five arrests, with 37 people named as formal suspects – known in Portugal as arguidos – the force said in a statement on May 28.

Officers from the PJ’s National Anti-Corruption Unit have been carrying out dozens of searches at homes and business premises in Lisbon and in the towns of Mafra, Oeiras and Coimbra. According to Euronews, the force was executing 60 search warrants at residences and 32 at other properties.

The investigation centres on the alleged misuse of “direct award procedures or prior consultation processes, in clear violation of applicable legal norms”, the PJ said. It added that the practices had caused “evident harm to the public treasury”.

The suspected offences are malfeasance and economic participation in business, both linked to contracts awarded by municipal and parish councils, according to the statement.

CNN Portugal, which first reported the raids, said investigators were examining an alleged network built around the party’s local government power base. The broadcaster reported that the inquiry covers the hiring of party members and the awarding of contracts to firms owned by Socialists through direct negotiation, said to total more than €800,000 between 2016 and 2022.

The PS has confirmed that the PJ was at its offices though said it was not itself the target of the investigation. In a statement, the party said officers were carrying out proceedings related to activities attributed to one of its workers.

The party added that it was cooperating with the police in everything that was requested to ensure the inquiry ran smoothly, while respecting the principles of the rule of law.

About 400 inspectors and experts from the PJ, along with seven prosecutors, have been mobilised for the operation, the force said. Those arrested are due to appear before the Central Criminal Investigation Court in Lisbon for questioning, where a judge would decide on any precautionary measures.

The searches have come a day after Spanish police seized information from the Madrid headquarters of the governing Socialist Party (PSOE), led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, as part of a criminal investigation into suspected financial wrongdoing.

The PS, founded in 1973, is currently the main opposition party in Portugal after losing power to the centre-right.

brusselssignal

Catholic churches regularly under attack in France: report

Pont-du-Casse, Nouvelle-Aquitaine – Google Maps

A church in southern France was vandalized as an “anti-fascist” group challenged the display of a Christian cross — signs of a growing normalization of attacks on places of worship and Catholic symbols across the country.

On May 25, Monday of Pentecost, the church of Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens in Mérens, a locality within the commune of Pont-du-Casse in the Lot-et-Garonne department, was found vandalized after one or more intruders damaged religious property inside the building.

Separately, in Comps, in the Gard department, a metal cross placed on a rocky outcrop overlooking the village became the subject of a formal complaint by the “Anti‑Racist and Anti‑Fascist Citizen Action in Beaucaire,” which referred the matter to the French Human Rights League, arguing that the installation constituted a violation of secular governance.

In both cases, the events were reported as part of a broader pattern of tensions surrounding Catholic symbols in public and religious spaces in France.

“Beyond the investigation that will have to determine the precise circumstances of this case, one question remains — a question many Catholics are asking today: how many more churches will have to be desecrated before the nation becomes fully aware of the gravity of these acts?” Tribune Chrétienne wrote.

According to the Tribune Chrétienne report, the Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens church was described as having suffered disorder and damage consistent with forced entry or vandalism. Statues inside the building were reported damaged, while liturgical and devotional objects were found scattered on the floor. The building’s stained-glass structure was also affected, with at least one window reported broken.

The report underlined that the church is not only a heritage building but remains an active place of worship, used for sacraments and parish life. Buildings such as Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens have traditionally hosted baptisms, marriages, funerals, and local liturgical feasts, forming part of the social and religious fabric of the community over centuries. No individuals were identified in connection with the vandalism at the time of publication.

In the same time frame, Tribune Chrétienne referenced another incident in the Pyrenees involving a cross placed at the summit of the Aneto. The cross, installed by 18-year-ld French mountaineer Maël Le Lagadec, was removed and thrown from the summit shortly after its installation. According to the report, Spanish climbers later retrieved the cross and restored it to the summit. The episode was presented as part of a sequence of symbolic disputes involving Christian markers in public or natural spaces.

The report situated both the Mérens vandalism and the Comps controversy within a wider set of recurring incidents involving Christian churches and symbols in France. The report notes repeated cases of damaged religious statues and tabernacles, destroyed crucifixes, and occasional arson affecting churches in different French regions.

It also highlighted the frequency of such events, describing them as occurring on a near-weekly basis in various parts of the country. These incidents include the decapitation of statues of the Virgin Mary, destruction of crosses, and break-ins of church buildings.

lifesitenews

UK: Sick ex-supply teacher admits 21 child sex offences at schools across North West

Abusali Rahman, 36, from Salford, pleaded guilty to 21 child sex offences | GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE

A sick former supply teacher has admitted to 21 child sex offences at schools across the North West of England.

Abusali Rahman, 36, who lives in Salford, pleaded guilty to the charges at Bolton Crown Court on Thursday.

The extensive list of offences took place between December 2023 and June 2025, with 13 schoolgirls targeted in a number of different schools.

Rahman – a British national of Bangladeshi ethnicity – pleaded guilty to 12 counts of taking indecent photographs of children by upskirting, four counts of publishing an obscene article and three counts of making indecent photographs of children.

He also admitted to single counts of voyeurism and distributing an indecent photograph of a child.

Emma Kehoe, defending, told the court that Rahman was aware he will receive a prison sentence, adding: “He was going through a mental health crisis at the time.”

She requested a psychiatric report to be carried out ahead of sentencing later this year.

Rahman was arrested in 2025 after a parent came across an image of their daughter in her school uniform on social media, Greater Manchester Police said.

After pleading guilty at Bolton Crown Court, the 36-year-old was remanded into custody.

He will be brought back to court for sentencing on September 1.

All affected schools, alongside the victims’ parents and guardians, have been informed, Greater Manchester Police confirmed.

Rahman’s guilty pleas follow an investigation carried out by the force’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT).

After the former supply teacher admitted to the crimes, Detective Chief Superintendent Rebecca McKendrick said: “Our OCAIT team has painstakingly worked through the evidence to build a case against Rahman.

“The victims have been at the forefront of our investigation, and we have kept their parents and guardians and their schools informed and supported throughout this process.

“Protecting children remains our highest priority, and we will continue to work closely with and meeting the victims, schools and local authorities to ensure there is support in place for anyone affected.”

The head of Greater Manchester Police’s Public Protection Division urged anyone who wishes to report an offence to do so by calling 0161 856 1737 to speak to a specialist officer.

Meanwhile, CPS senior prosecutor Alex Mann said: “This was a horrifying case involving an abuse of trust that affected multiple young victims.

“Rahman fell well below the standards expected of his role – first by sharing sexualised deepfake images online, before escalating to upskirting and voyeurism offences.

“Following a comprehensive GMP investigation, prosecutors were able to piece together a compelling case that left the defendant with little choice but admit his crimes.

“The guilty pleas entered today means he will face the consequences of his appalling actions, without victims having to prolong their suffering by reliving their experiences at trial.”

gbnews

German Police ARREST Right-Wing Activist Traveling to “Remigration Summit” at Airport Gate, Issue EXIT BAN

President Trump also endorses the phrase “Remigration.”

German Federal border police took right-wing “Generation Identity” activist Max Märkl into custody today at Munich Airport to prevent him from traveling to the “Remigration Summit” taking place Saturday in Porto, Portugal, and issued a travel ban to prevent the young man from traveling to Portugal. The Gateway Pundit spoke to Max exclusively.

“They were waiting at the gate for me when the plane started boarding, pulled me out of the line, took my documents and took me into custody at the airport police station, where I was issued a citation banning me from traveling to Portugal until midnight Saturday and threatening to fine me €500 every time I failed to report to my local police station twice daily until then,” Max said.

Max Märkl is one of the national spokesmen of Generation Identity Germany, a right-wing youth movement originally founded in France 2014, which seeks to preserve the cultural identity of Europe. He was scheduled to speak at the Remigration Summit, whose speaker list includes Stefano L. Forte of the New York Young Republicans, US influencer Joey Mannarino, Generation Identity Austria head Martin Sellner, Dutch activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek, German state parliamentarian Lena Kotré, UK Grooming Gang survivor Sammy Woodhouse and Belgian activist Dries van Langenhove, who was found guilty of “hate speech” this week for drawing a connection between migration and crime, even though the court admits the connection exists.

Last year, eight Generation Identity activists were also prevented from traveling to the 2025 Remigration Summit in Milano, Italy, from Munich airport, but four went via car anyway and were never charged with a crime, presumably meaning prosecutors know the case would never stand up in court.

This time, the Federal police were better prepared, threatening to fine Max if he defies the ban and confiscating his mobile phone right away to prevent him from filming the arrest like last year (as The Gateway Pundit reported).

The Federal Police citation, which Gateway Pundit has read, justifies the travel ban on a free German citizen who has committed no crime by calling the concept of “Remigration” (deportation of illegal migrants) a violation of the German constitution.

Recent German chancellors Olaf Scholz and Friedrich Merz have also called for “mass deportations” when they are campaigning for office, but then quickly forget their campaign promises once elected.

The White House social media team also recently posted in favor of the concept of “Remigration” and warned against “Replacement Migration” – both concepts that the German Federal Police apparently deem illegal.

On Jan. 1, 2026, the White House social media team also posted an image of President Donald Trump with a “USA” cap and the word “Remigration”.

The Federal Police citation also claims the Generation Identity concept of “ethnopluralism” amounts to White Supremacy and a wish to ethnically cleanse non-Germans from the country. Generation Identity members argue that “ethnopluralism” actually means “pluralism” and a wish to preserve a country’s diverse ethnic heritage.

“I was just arrested at Munich Airport and prevented from leaving the country,” Max posted on X.

“My fundamental right to freedom of movement has been violated because I allegedly threaten the reputation of the Federal Republic of Germany. Right before the Remigration Summit, they’re panicking. They’ve already lost every single debate and the culture war. Every European can see the devastating consequences of the population replacement with his own eyes. So they’re playing their final card: raw repression. They’re trying to jail Dries Van Langenhove, and now they’ve stopped me from leaving my own country. They want to scare millions of patriots into submission before they vote for change. But there’s one thing they forgot in their desperation: repression backfires.”

At the “Remigration Summit”, Generation Identity Austria head Martin Sellner will announce the founding of an Institute for Remigration this Saturday, which aims to “connect politicians, researchers, and journalists, produce dossiers, graphics, and reports, and organize Europe-wide campaigns” with the goal of “the preservation of ethnocultural continuity” in Europe. The IFR calls itself “the first lobby for Europeans in Europe.”

thegatewaypundit

A Gambian man was arrested after attempting to kill a police officer with a knife in Xirivella, Spain, whilst shouting “Allah Akbar” and “I am sacrificing myself”

Carrer de Juan Molina – Google Maps

A 26-year-old Gambian man was arrested in Xirivella after attempting to kill a sergeant of the national police with a knife whilst shouting “Allahu Akbar”. His bulletproof vest, which blocked the direct blow to his shoulder, saved him from serious injury during this violent altercation.

The incident took place on May 26, 2026, at around 9:30 am. At that time, a National Police patrol entered a flat on Juan de Molina Street in Xirivella following a heated argument between two young men resulting from a family dispute.

The man who called the police, who was also from Gambia, said that his flatmate had been smoking a lot of marijuana and listening to Islamic prayers at full volume on his mobile phone. When the police arrived to defuse the tension in the flat, the man reacted with extreme violence.

He grabbed a kitchen knife lying on the floor of his room, raised the weapon and attempted to stab the police officer in the throat. During the attack, the man repeatedly shouted phrases such as “Allahu Akbar!” (Allah is great) and “I sacrifice myself!”, according to court sources.

Las Provincias

Brussels Is Working To Ban the AfD’s EU Party

As if Germany’s establishment efforts to keep the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) out of power were not enough, Brussels is now moving against the party’s European alliance as well.

The Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) party—home to the AfD, France’s Reconquest movement led by Éric Zemmour, Bulgaria’s Revival, and several other nationalist parties—is facing a potentially crippling investigation by the Authority for European Political Parties and Foundations (APPF), which claims the alliance may not comply with “EU values.”

If the process advances, the ESN could ultimately lose its official status as a European political party, stripping it of European Union funding and weakening its ability to coordinate across member states ahead of future European elections.

The watchdog claims it has found evidence that “casts doubt” on the alliance’s compliance with the bloc’s core principles, citing statements and activities linked to some of its member parties.

AfD MEP Petr Bystron said it was “crazy” that “the current EU majorities want to dictate to everyone what they’re allowed to think and say.”

They’re actually pushing to punish political parties who oppose illegal migration and LGBTQ ideology—because those are now supposedly sacred ‘European values.’

The ESN party is legally separate from the ESN group in the European Parliament, meaning the bloc’s MEPs would not lose their seats. However, deregistration could still strip the alliance of EU funding and weaken its ability to coordinate campaigning and policy across Europe ahead of future elections.

Dr. Igor Merheim-Eyre, who is a research fellow at the Global Europe Centre at the University of Kent, highlighted the double standards of Brussels, asking: “Why not also consider banning the ‘European Left?’”

Communism is fundamentally against freedom and democracy and, like their far-right chums, ‘The Left’ have sold out to our enemies in Moscow, Beijing and Tehran.

The watchdog told Politico that it had “provided facts … to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, with a view to enabling these Institutions to decide whether to lodge with the Authority a request for verification of compliance with Union values.”

europeanconservative

Spanish judge says ruling Socialists paid Civil Guard officer to sabotage corruption cases

elcapo.org/

Spain’s ruling Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) has paid a Civil Guard officer accused of leaking secret information to a network allegedly set up to disrupt corruption investigations into the party, a Spanish judge has said.

The claim appears in a court order by Santiago Pedraz, an investigating judge at Spain’s National Court (Audiencia Nacional).

In it, Pedraz wrote that Captain Juan Sánchez Yepes, a former member of the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Guardia Civil, “also invoices his services to the PSOE”.

The UCO is the elite anti-corruption unit that has been investigating the PSOE and figures close to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, including the Koldo affair over allegedly rigged public contracts.

According to the order, Sánchez Yepes handed over classified details about the unit and about Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Balas, who leads the UCO department probing the party. Messages cited by the judge suggest the officer knew he was breaking the law.

The captain is being investigated for revealing secrets, bribery and crimes against State institutions. He had already been suspended over a separate hydrocarbons fraud inquiry.

The wider case centres on Leire Díez, a former Socialist activist described as the party’s “fixer”, who is accused of running the operation. Pedraz believes it was designed to destabilise court proceedings affecting the party and the Spanish Government.

The judge calculates that the party paid roughly €188,000 through false invoices, allegedly with help from its manager, Ana María Fuentes, who has also been placed under investigation.

Investigators trace the scheme to April 2024, after the wife of Sánchez, Begoña Gómez, was placed under investigation in a separate case. Díez allegedly told associates the plan was a priority for Santos Cerdán, the PSOE’s former organisation secretary, who has since been remanded in custody.

Cerdán has denied telling the Prime Minister about his contacts with Díez. Sánchez has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.

The PSOE said it was the target of a “lynching” campaign by the Right and insisted it had destroyed no evidence.

brusselssignal

Italy: Woman kidnapped for 3 days and gang raped non-stop, 5 African migrants arrested in Rome

Italian police raided the building where the girl was kidnapped and raped and made 5 arrests.

A 32-year-old Colombian woman was kidnapped, threatened with death, drugged, and gang raped for three days in a building occupied by undocumented non-EU migrants, with five migrants now under arrest in Rome, Italy. The woman only managed to escape on the third day after running half-naked from the abandoned building.

Rome police say the woman was held captive for three days in an abandoned building on Via Tallone, during which she was reportedly subjected to multiple gang rapes under the threat of death.

According to Secolo d’Italia, authorities arrested five migrants and charged them with kidnapping, gang rape, and other offenses. They have all been named by Italian media: 43-year-old Malian Harouna Traore, 29-year-old Gambian Saidykhan Lamin, 38-year-old Gambian Karamba Kanteh, 29-year-old Nigerian Isibor Wisdom, and 39-year-old Nigerian Paul Nwabueze.

During a raid on the building, police released images of various men who were arrested and detained in the building, which is covered in trash.

Additionally, 11 other individuals from non-EU countries who were found inside the same property have received deportation orders. They are being detained at repatriation centers in Ponte Galeria, Palazzo San Gervasio, and Bari.

According to findings detailed by the Flying Squad’s IV Section, the victim is a 32-year-old Colombian national who had arrived in Rome roughly 10 days prior to the incident. A statement from police headquarters notes that on the evening of May 19, the young woman was outside a restaurant when a man approached her, and she indicated to him that she wished to purchase hashish.

The man convinced her to go with him to pick up the drugs, leading her on a 30-minute walk to a van where she was forced inside and driven to Via Cesare Tallone.

This marked the beginning of her horrifying ordeal, as she was imprisoned against her will in the abandoned property and subjected to repeated sexual assaults by multiple perpetrators.

Investigators state that five specific suspects took turns assaulting her over a 36-hour period while threatening and terrorizing the woman.

Furthermore, the victim was allegedly incapacitated by narcotics that were provided by the men in the building, which severely restricted her ability to resist or flee. Her captivity ended on the third day when, following another assault, she managed to break free, run into the street half-naked, and seek help from a pedestrian who contacted emergency services.

Emergency responders transported her to Casilino hospital, where medical examinations revealed physical injuries consistent with sexual assault, alongside evidence of narcotic substances in her system.

The investigation, overseen by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Rome, then worked to find the building. Officers executed a raid on the abandoned complex to gather evidence and perform identity checks.

A total of 22 undocumented non-EU citizens were detained and taken to the police facility on Via Patini.

Following background checks, 11 of these individuals received deportation orders and were transferred to detention facilities in Ponte Galeria, Palazzo San Gervasio, and Bari. The five primary suspects were among this group and were positively identified by the victim through a photographic lineup.

The investigation continues; however, it is far from the only such case in recent years in Italy.

Just last month, another harrowing gang rape case hit Italy, with seven suspects, all with foreign backgrounds, charged for raping a 23-year-old victim in the Cesena countryside and filming the crime.

The victim was allegedly abused and filmed by the seven youths during a drug-fueled party in early April. The suspects, described as being “born in the city but of African and Asian origins,” are aged between 19 and 25.

They reportedly took advantage of the victim’s state of intoxication, and the films they recorded on their phones may now be the deciding piece of evidence in their case.

Another case about six months ago also sparked international headlines. Rome police arrested three Moroccan men accused of dragging an 18-year-old girl out of her boyfriend’s car and gang raping her while restraining her partner and forcing him to watch.

Investigators say the woman was attacked on the evening of Oct. 25 after a migrant gang surrounded the parked car where she and her 24-year-old boyfriend had stopped late at night in Tor Tre Teste park in the Italian capital.

However, these are only two additional examples among many in recent years. Remarkably, 43 percent of all sexual crimes in Italy are committed by foreigners despite making up a much smaller portion of the population.

rmx

UK: Actress Helen Mirren harassed by pro-Palestinian activist

Helen Mirren. Harald Krichel,CC-BY-SA-3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren was verbally harassed on a London street by a pro-Palestinian activist who called her an “evil Zionist b—-” while she was walking with her husband, film director Taylor Hackford.

Video circulating on social media shows the confrontation taking place Wednesday evening near Tower Hill in London. Mirren, 80, initially appeared calm and asked the man if he was okay before he launched into an angry tirade over her longstanding support for Israel.

The Telegraph reports that an activist accused Mirren of supporting Israel “because of the Holocaust” and shouted insults at both her and Hackford. Hackford responded by repeatedly telling the man to leave them alone.

Mirren has publicly defended Israel for years and has opposed cultural boycotts against the country. In 2023, while promoting her film Golda, in which she portrayed former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir, Mirren said she believed in “the existence of Israel” and that the country should endure “for the rest of eternity.”

She also recently signed a public letter supporting Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest amid calls for a boycott over the war in Gaza.

Mirren first visited Israel in 1967 shortly after the Six-Day War and volunteered on Kibbutz HaOn near the Sea of Galilee. Although she has consistently defended Israel’s right to exist, she has also criticized some policies of Israeli governments in past interviews.

Representatives for Mirren had not publicly commented on the incident as of Thursday afternoon.

israelnationalnews