Stock Photo - 26 June 2023, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rostock: Friedrich Merz (r), chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, and Thomas Kreuzer (l), the CSU parliamentary group chairman in the Bavarian state parliament, answer questions from media representatives at a press conference during the meeting of CDU and CSU parliamentary group leaders from the federal and state governments. 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 in Thuringia. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa. - Rostock/Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania/Germany