Stock Photo - 26 June 2023, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rostock: Friedrich Merz (center), chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, answers questions from media representatives at a press conference during the meeting of CDU and CSU parliamentary group leaders from the federal and state governments between Thomas Kreuzer (left), parliamentary group leader of the CSU in the Bavarian state parliament, and Manuel Hagel (right), parliamentary group leader of the CDU in the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg. At the two-day meeting, the leaders of the CDU/CSU parliamentary groups discuss the current situation in industry and the skilled trades, new demands on the federal government and the latest election successes of the AfD party in Thuringia. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa. - Rostock/Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania/Germany