afew me, this class headquarters of cdu building.but this is not in the script. i have to say, at what strikes me is already a soul—searching goes on but bear this in mind, there are parallels here with british politics as well. the idea of theresa may, for example, in the uk, people talk about her not standing perhaps for much longer. will she do for years until 2021? what happens next? questions like that are being asked to abandon merkel, it is said to be her last time, they are trying to work out not just the coalition time, they are trying to work out notjust the coalition but time, they are trying to work out not just the coalition but who time, they are trying to work out notjust the coalition but who have the power to take over the reins, and at some point they are wondering whether they will have to let angela merkel go before the four years, which is fascinating given the power she was assumed to have a week ago, suddenly staggering to a halt. it is slowing her down. gavin, thank you. if we look at the numbers, angela merke

cdu and csu, 217... in the netherlands, with the freedom party which makes a very similar point saying mosques need to be closed, islam is not compatible with dutch culture. this is resonating with a significant mile north. joining me live here in berlin is the us ambassador to germany from 1997-2001. thank the us ambassador to germany from 1997—2001. thank you for your time. nice to be here. what did you make of that? actually the polls the last couple of days more or less predicted this so i wasn't surprised. i'm not happy obviously, i don't like to see right—wing being so strong, but the fact is for the other parties, it's more or less what everybody was expecting. you say it's in line with the polls. angela merkel‘s numbers are down. in fa ct before angela merkel‘s numbers are down. in fact before we continue talking, let's go to the afd headquarters because one of their most significant figures is talking now. let's listen in. parliamentary let's listen in. ... parliamentary politics let's listen in

i have always voted cdu and i want angela merkel again.aren't many alternatives to angela merkel. translation: she doesn't do much on her own initiative. she reacts a lot to what others do and that's a kind of stagnation. angela merkel must now find a coalition partner. don't expect afd to be included. that the party is in parliament at all horrifies the political mainstream. exhausted, bruised, at the end of a long campaign. angela merkel‘s conservatives may be the winners, but this doesn't feel much like victory. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. with me is martin klingst, senior political correspondent of die zeit weekly. he is live with me here. thanks for your time. what was your reaction when you saw the exit poll?|j your time. what was your reaction when you saw the exit poll? i was shocked when the reality hit. even though i predicted the outcome pretty closely i thought the afd would gain 11 or 12%, so they are 110w would gain 11 or 12%, so they are now roughly 13%. when reality hits, you are shocked. it was widely predicted that the

one out ofmerkel: three voters went from the cdu to the afd. many were not voters in the last election, because there has been a higher electoral turnout. obviously, we want to attract these voters back by solving the problems facing the country. >> i believe you were talking about the right flank, closing the right flank -- not a shift to the right. i would puterkel: it in other words. i think that where there are problems, we need to find solutions. and these are questions around integrating people, questions around illicit migration. decentis also about health care in rural areas. a question of public transports to rural areas. looking at the opportunities , a lot ofrs have farmers are very unhappy with the situation. that are many components lead to an attitude that was reflected in this vote for the afd that was seen. i think if we tackle their problems, we will be successful. >> i have got a question around european foreign and defense policy, with the afd the third strongest party in the parliament. do you be able to influence european p

i have always voted cdu andl are criminals.du and i wanted merkel again. are criminals. i have always voted cdu and i wanted merkel againm are criminals. i have always voted cdu and i wanted merkel again. it is difficult. there are not many alternatives to angela merkel. she does not do much on haroon initiative. she reacts a lot to what others do and that is a kind of stagnation. angela merkel must now find a coalition partner. do not expect afd to be included. that the parties in parliament atoll horrifies the political mainstream. exhausted, bruised, the end of a long campaign. angela merkel‘s conservatives may be the winners but this does not feel a lot like victory. what happens with german elections is we get the result but that is not the end of the matter. the parties have to sit down and work out who can form a coalition government. if you're a student of german politics you're a student of german politics you will know there are quite a few cult —— combinations that have on occasion ended up in government. looking at

many had hoped we could form a coalition with just the cdu and the fdp. i am not going to spend all of my time analyzing what happened on what day in the past. from where i am standing, after the tv showdown, we were in a different situation. it is certainly not the case that i did not engage with issues. it remains the case, more than ever before, the view that the erman election system of having lead candidate is more interesting to have debates between all of these candidates, not tv showdowns by having lead candidate is more the two biggest. there were other tv showdowns, y the way. or me, it was easy to name the differences between our party and the spd, and the spd found it very easy to name the differences to our party. but whether i am responsible for all of this -- i mean, so be it. i take the responsibility, then. >> before the german elections, it very easy to name the differences to our party. there were a number of parties who gave you ultimatums or guarantees, or set conditions. now, if there are no conditions, you have not said there were a

the cdu/csu projected 33, that's down from 41 at the last election. down to 21%, its worst performance in an election. and those four smaller parties have all outperformed four years ago, so they will be pleased with that. let's translate that into projections for the bundestag itself, and by far the biggest story here is that figure of 94 at the bottom. the alternative for germany had no representation in the bundestag before this election. now, they will have 94 members of parliament. let's see the latest report from the bbc‘s berlin correspondent jenny hill. it has been a frustrating night for angela merkel. a brave face, though, for the cameras, and for the party faithful. mrs merkel has won the election for them, but it is not the victory that they had hoped for. support for her conservatives is lower than it has ever been under her leadership — a verdict perhaps on her decision to open germany's doors to a million refugees. translation: let's not beat about the bush. of course we'd hoped for a better result. but let's not forget we've just had a

>> the greatest thing is we have cdu and csu, which is the bavarian part of our party and csu is not very much in love with the queen there might be some very difficult tasks to overcome and angela merkel has to organize a lot of compromises which is not too easy >> what do you think who will be at the helm of the finance ministry are you confident that the cdu is keeping that? >> i do hope so because i think mr. scheubel is the right person to run the finance ministry. germany is not having any new debt and we've had a balanced budget for four years in a row i would be very happy if he can make it again. that very moment and that very coalition hopefully he's going to run as finance minister again. >> that's interesting. let's look at the alternative for germany. what does it mean that they are in parliament? can they shape the political debate or can they really make a political difference >> first of all, they are not the biggest party of parliament. there are other parties. i have a feeling we are having normal debates it's going to be maybe a little bit more opposition debates b

would they have a strong voice if they got a strong coalition with the cdu?what the ftp stands for. who hasthe front figure been voicing his opinion, but there are the old ftp, which was more international european oriented party. election, was the sarkozy negotiations, we will really know what ftp stands for. do we see other voices emerging from the ftp? guy: how long will angela merkel prepared to take forming a government and operate a minority government before she takes the country back to the polls? what is the prospect with a fifth medical -- fifth merkel term if we would have earlier elections? guest: normally the negotiations in germany last two months, so before the end of the year, it is hardly possible we will get a new government or a new agreement on what they stand for even if the election outcome is clear. down this scenario of merkel on her own minority government, the other parties have gotten so close together, i think she could do a full term of another four years in the minority government. i think that's possible. curiosity, i want to pi

. there is quite a lot of pressure on the government. -- the cdu.g. you'll especially the greens, who are pro—eu and in the sense of what the bavarians don't like. more money to southern states, so it's going to be very difficult but other thing that will put pressure on them is the afd, the right wing party. so, ithink pressure on them is the afd, the right wing party. so, i think there isa right wing party. so, i think there is a sense in germany that the need to form a coalition, a solid one, soon, because the majority have in mind 80% of the people did not vote for afd, they see us as a threat. maria, in terms of how it is perceived in the rest of europe, as mentioned, emmanuel macron this very ambitious plan to reshape, certainly the eurozone part of the eu. britain will have left the eu anyway, that might make things a bit simpler in 18 months or so, is that made less likely by what is happening in germany? i don't know. who knows what is going to happen in the eu? the right of the md is of a piece into what string to happen all over europe, w

the social democrats, who came second, say they won't continue in coalition with mrs merkel‘s cdu.h working with the next largest party, alliance for germany, the far right which won 12% of the vote. as for the free democrats and the green party, who together could secure her a parliamentary majority, there's little on which they agree. the chancellor has already dumped her finance minister, apparently to please them. french president emmanuel macron's ambitions to re—shape the eurozone depend on german support, and such a coalition might not give it. stephanie, it should have been a celebration for angela merkel. was it as good an election result as she might‘ve hoped for and how much will this change? of course it was not the result she had hoped for, she said that strategically we have achieved our goal because i am back in office but, as you say, it is going to be a very bumpy time now because there is only one option and this is the so—called jamaica coalition between the cdu, black, the fdp, the liberals, yellow, and the greens. but it is going to take quite some time to form

not talking about afd here, but ftp and cdu -- they are actually populistsuccessful parties because thesere the right parties who better understand that this is not about social economic topics but about social cultural topics, about security issues, integration issues, and righght-wing parties understand better. if you want to keep the afd a small party, a right-wing coalition would be better. much to thank you very all of you for being with us today and thanks to all of you for tuning in. hope to see you soon. ♪ ♪ >> this week in global 3000 we head to the united states where we meet the ever-prepared preppers. in the guatemalan rainforest we learn what food and woodland conservation have in common but first we go to china, where divorce rates are rising and paving the way for new business ideas. the big day! around the world, weddings are pretty much always an excuse to celebrate in style. in 2015, more than 400,000

2015 -- we in the cdu and csu. is she seeing a different tune now largely because of electioneering opportunism? malte: it is not so new. it started in the fall of 2015 when you have stricter rules for asylum-seekers, when she basically switched from the open heart and friendly face to very pragmatic and, i would say, more conservative way of dealing with the problems. i would say this is no real switch, but it was a long development starting in the fall of 2015 until now. kind of real existing humanitarian things. host: what do you think when you hear what she says now compared to what she was saying two of two years ago? does that reflect lessons learned on her part or simply to ensure that her party does not lose bototh? mekonnen: everything you say is right. we have a campaign right now. of course, many changes have been done during the last 12 preventing humanitarian catastrophe and crisis during the summer of 2015 was followed by a number of changes restricting the open-door policy for refugees. in a wayeen m

not talking about afd here, but ftp and cdu -- they are actually populistsuccessful parties because thesere the right parties who better understand that this is not about social economic topics but about social cultural topics, about security issues, integration issues, and righght-wing parties understand better. if you want to keep the afd a small party, a right-wing coalition would be better. much to thank you very all of you for being with us today and thanks to all of you for tuning in. hope to see you soon. ♪ ♪ michelle: a very warm welcome to a new edition of "fokus on europe." i'm michelle henery. it's an all-too-familiar scenario -- young men, on a mission to terrorize peoeople ia european city, again with a murderous outcome, and again the product of home-grown islamist radicalization. this time, the attack took place in barcelona. shococked at the horror unleasd by the attackers, the local muslim community has taken to the streets to show solidarity with the victims and their relatives. barcelona is together, for all the world and all the races,

not talking about afd here, but ftp and cdu -- they are actually populistsuccessful parties because thesere the right parties who better understand that this is not about social economic topics but about social cultural topics, about security issues, integration issues, and righght-wing parties understand better. if you want to keep the afd a small party, a right-wing coalition would be better. much to thank you very all of you for being with us today and thanks to all of you for tuning in. hope to see you soon. ♪ [speining spish]h] woman: thlalandlo dririll a hole during t time at s she wasn't he andnd r an extensonon co ththatonneccd to this tltlet he. s so ght nono shshe ow abobout thoususan man: so she owes ,1,100 oan eleriric bi? woman: ye..

total 30% of voters seem not to have made their mind up it will be a last-minute decision even the cdus not really relaxed with their strong showings in the polls. any way, the big topic as well is here on the ground which coalition is actually possible looking at merkel's party f she's really getting some 36% to 38% she needs another partner to reach the majority in parliament it could be the liberals if they're gaining traction, but most likely that won't be enough they would need another party for that the sort of coalition it could be the so-called jamaica coalition, but they are already arguing with each other strongly about very relevant topics, lowering the likelihood that this kind of coalition is viable another outcome, of course, would be the grand coalition, not really very much liked here by anybody also not by the spd party base shultz would go into such a party, but the party base doesn't want that again. even though this seems to be like a very easy election going forward, there's so many unknowns it makes it interesting. >> what would be the future of martin shultz give

deputy finance minister and asked him for his view on the most likely coalition. >> i hope that the cdu will lead the new government a >> there's some concerns that coalition talks this time could last very long because of the potential coalition formations is that something you share as well as a concern? >> i think we'll have three weeks after the general election, the local elections. so i believe after this local election we will start the discussion about new coalition i believe it could take some time to come together and bald new government >> what does it mean that for the first time in many, many years a political party to the right of the cdu and csu a entering parliament with the afd? what does it mean for political berlin >> i think it will bring us a new style of the political debate the second i think the other parties, the democratic parties have to some problems, which are in the few of the people are available. for example, the problem of migration. if we do it, i hope that we can reduce this right wing >> in other words, do you think that if the future government will

angela merkel‘s cdu took 33% of the vote down from 41%.t mean in terms of seats. well, the cdu and its sister party the csu have 246 of the 709. it would seem, unless there is a change of heart, that the socialists will choose to go into opposition. which probably means the cdu joining forces with the fdp and the greens. the afd have 94 seats. here's why some germans voted for them, and why others didn't. i didn't like angela merkel, because there was no stop in the refugee politik. it was all too quick, and she didn't say, like, 0k, we stopped at that and that number. translation: it's ok for people to come to germany when they really need help. translation: i think we should give the afd a chance to see they are really for the state and everyone. well, what next for the alternative for germany? their spokesman hugh bronson has been speaking to our colleague, ros atkins, in berlin. frauke petry has left the party in part because of its tone. do you think there are times when the afd uses language which is unhelpful to germany and unhelpfu

. >> basically this is a tradition between the cdu and you see the german chancellor speaking behind me. what is very much unusual here, let me just show you, is the protesters here behind us. there are several thousands of people turning out to support the german chaps -- chancellor. at same time we see people with away with merkel. we see the whistling and heckling that has so become the hallmark of this campaign and haunted the campaign of the german chancellor in recent weeks. we saw very few people, just a couple dozen here, with whistles who are clearly identifiable as antimerkel protesters. but as usual, one can almost say they're making a lot of noise. cdu just a couple minutes ago acknowledged them and said this is about democratic debate and shouldn't be about people just shouting at each other. but as you can tell, once again the german chancellor faces basically a wall of noise as she tries to get across her message to win over as many undecided voters here in germany, less than 24 hours before we actually know how the elections played out in germany. >> reporting from mu

the black for cdu, the green for the green party, yellow for the liberals.r. we are halfway through polling. compared to 2013, we are up in terms of voters so far today. they had 71% of all people potentially who could vote, about a0 million people, just a few hours ago. gavin lee in berlin. and we'll be bringing you a special programme live from berlin as the polls close — including reaction to the first exit polls here on the bbc news channel. that's from 5pm to 6.55 evening. donald trump has been denounced by leading figures in the sports world in a controversy over the us national anthem. he says the american football league should fire players who refuse to stand during the national anthem. in a tweet, the president withdrew a white house invitation to a star player of america's basketball champions because he voiced concern at being in the white house with mr trump. now america's greatest basketball star, lebron james, has joined in the criticism of mr trump. this guy that we've put in charge has tried to divide us once again. we all know how much spor

if they get to double figures, that could eat into the cdu party and that makes it harder for her to in popularity of the md much has the growth in popularity of the afd influenced the discussions people have been having?m the afd influenced the discussions people have been having? it has had an impact on the debate. this party is controversial because it is the first time that what some would call a populist nationalist party is entering parliament and are focusing on migration. many conservative voters are nervous about angela merkel‘s stance on migration, some have gone over to the afd, and we have gone over to the afd, and we have also seen the afd has become the anti—merkel party so some people who do not like angela merkel are starting to vote for them. critics say some of their members have links to neo—nazi organisations and some leaders have made strident anti—muslim comments so it is controversial and that is quite angela merkel ruled out forming any coalition government with them so they might enter parliament but they will not enter government so their power will be limit

she lost significantly, she will be under heavy pressure from her party to do something, to get the cduy to have a leader for this long? we had surprisingly in the last week of the election campaigna the last week of the election campaign a discussion and the consensus in the parliament that we should change the terms extended from four years to five years, then give a from four years to five years, then givea limit from four years to five years, then give a limit of maximum two terms like the us president for a german chancellor and then a new one has to step up. george is watching in the uk on bbc news and once asked to what degree that globalisation played a role, frustrations with it? it was bowled. on the one hand we are happy to be the export champion of the world and this is based on globalisation so we are benefiting from the eu and free markets and that was always a big topic of the big parties. at the same time, globalisation brings a lot of influences into your own country, in your own court here and the refugee issue and the migration issue in a very complicated mixture, giv

chancellor angela merkel, whose cdu party won the most seats, is starting her fourth term in office andew coalition government. she says she will not be driven by the afd‘s populist agenda. here's what people on the streets of berlin had to say about the rise in support for the afd. we thought we were going to bring you that, but i'm afraid we can't. actually, here we go... 0k, actually, here we go... ok, maybe not. ok, we were hopefully getting the views of some germans as to that result. but let's find out what the weather has got in store for us here in the uk. let's get all the details. here i am and we have some slow—moving weather at the moment. yesterday, the best of the weather is across the eastern side of the uk. to test, the best sunshine was in the west. things are moving slowly. a zone of low cloud, thick cloud, a little bit of light rain orders all. that will migrate further west. a lot of places will be dry, but a lot of cloud overnight. it will be low enough to give us full. where you have breaks, low—level fog as well. tim bridges of 13 or 1a. clear skies in northern ir

this is the cdu, the party of angela merkel, the party of martin schultz the main contender, and thety, george, you were talking about that so many people are talking about is this one. it's called the afd known as the alternative for germany, which does have a lot of far-right positions and there are some who believe they could actually become the third strongest force in german parliament. i want to show you around here. there are folks lining un. all of this by the way, paper ballots in germany, they haven't gone electric yet. one thing we have to point out, the guys who make everything run is the volunteers. thank you very much, folks. they've been doing a great job running everything, amazing, been great to us as well. you get your form over here. you go into that booth over there where you make your cross, and then you put it into the box -- where is the box to put the ballot in? over there, you put it into that box over there. so, it's a fairly straightforward process. and, again, all of it paper ballot so you don't have any issues afterwards. but right now you can see folks h

same is true for merkel and the lost more than the cdu itself.s coming up in their federal state next october. it is going to be difficult for them to be conciliatory. i would not expect any major progress on that front. maybe symbolic steps, but not game changers. guy: good morning from london. he said the markets should have priced in the ftp and its view on peripheral europe. did you price it in when you upgraded portugal? was that top of mind when you are thinking about this, when you make the portuguese decision? guest: yes, we did. it was not based on expectations of support from third parties or other countries or the eu. it was a reflection of the progress that the portuguese authorities themselves have made in turning the ship around. , the lowestfragile investment grade, but the progress is largely homemade. this should not have any impact on the rating of logical or any other sovereign in the eurozone. if you had more mutual i ization, it might have lifted up some of the ratings. guy: what is your view on the n catalanum? -- referendum

but she will acknowledge there have to be succession plans in the cdu.hose discussions starting to happen? wejust had a cdu presidency and federal board meeting and the party is united behind the chancellor and we know that without her, this election campaign would have been even more difficult. she is our leader and we all want her to be a chancellor for the fourth term because she's good for germany. ina in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour, but first, the headlines. the shadow brexit secretary says labour are now the grown—ups in the room when it comes to negotiating britain's future relationship with the european union. labour also says it would review contracts signed under the private finance initiative and bring them back into the public sector. germany's right—wing nationalist afd party vows to fight an invasion of foreigners into the country after winning its first parliamentary seats. hello, here is the business news. labour says it will introduce laws to limit the amount of interest that can be charged on credit cards — if it

but at last night's cdu celebration, she was clear that despite gaining most votes, the fact that 1 millionhas disturbed her. translation: we will have to win back those who voted afd by solving their problems, listening to their concerns and fears, and with good politics. this is how votes translate to seats in parliament. six parties will share power in the bundestag with a record number of mps. but for the world's most powerful woman, in europe's richest country, the certainty and stability enjoyed for so long by the so—called miracle machine has been challenged. earlier we heard from chris morris on the mood music on theresa may's speech in florence last weekend. we arejust speech in florence last weekend. we are just hearing that the eu27 have said that the brexit negotiations must go through michel barnier, the chief negotiator and at the moment they are saying not sufficient progress yet to move to trade talks is the word from reuters. the mood music then is decidedly flat. also michel barnier says it must be translated into precise negotiating positions. so just getting another line

support for both mrs merkel‘s conservative cdu party and her coalition partners, the social democratsllen. it all means europe's largest economy could face months of painful coalition negotations and that has led the euro to fall in asian trading. but the economic picture going into the election was pretty healthy. the latest figures show annualised economic growth ofjust over 2% — that's after the 0.6% expansion in the three months to the end ofjune. and despite the huge influx of migrants which are thought to have cost mrs merkel votes, unemployment in august was 5.7% — well below the eurozone average and also germany's lowest since the berlin wall fell in 1989. and the public finances are in decent health too. the national debt fell nearly 3% in the first half of this year to just under $71.5 billion. that does give mrs merkel some wiggle room in that she can afford to offer potential coalition partners some of the policies they want in order to support her. but that will have to be balanced with the financial needs of an ageing population, wealth inequality and decreased social mo

and as last—minute polls show a drop in support for her cdu, the chancellor tells them that one in threeoters is still undecided, nothing must be be taken for granted. outside, it's a very different vibe. merkel‘s opponents have turned up at many of her rallies, here telling her to get lost and calling her a liar. the key issue was her decision to allow unrestricted immigration during the refugee crisis. they tell us we can't close our border. it's a big risk. germany until now is lacking... —— lucky. nothing happened in germany, small things, like berlin or this one here in hamburg. but like london or stockholm or paris, like this. it's only a question of time. where will this anger coalesce politically? with merkel occupying the centre, it opened a space on the right for afd, alternative for germany. this vacuum has to be filled, because people feel that there needs to be a party which is conservative, which is also thinking about germany, which is also thinking about germany first, for instance. and people have the feeling that something is going dramatically wrong. the afd has taken

cdu won the most seats but now faces a tough coalition talk.with more from berlin. the big question -- it was always going to be what does the coalition look like? what have we learned in the last hour or so? were always excited to be a number of choices, but martin schultz basically narrowed those choices by taking himself out of the equation. last night, he says he will not be in coalition with cdu, and he is going to the opposition. that leaves her with one mathematical choice, to bring the business friendly liberal party and the greens, an eco pa rty, together in coalition. that will be difficult, because they do not see eye to eye on most issues. on the other hand, she has no choice. in germany, unlike spain, there is a real desire to do everything in one election. they will not want to have new elections. merkel says she urges other parties not to. they feel it is their national responsibility to build a coalition. voters will be displeased if they do not. jonathan: emmanuel macron has made a big deal about more european integration. and

they have for decades been the number one, number two party together with the cdu.d of that party is the lead candidate, martin schulz. he used to be head of the european parliament and came back to take over and run in this race. he is not doing that well. the cdu is well ahead. what is interesting is the social democrats have not collapsed. this is really a pretty normal election with the main traditional parties fighting it out on pretty normal -- the same kind of agendas and promises and messages they would have made in previous elections. carol: we have seen populist forces really pushing back against the political establishment globally. we have seen it in the united states and other elections around the world. that is not the case in germany. how come? mark: that is what is so fascinating. there are a number of reasons. what we found was the most interesting was really that germans know they have won a globalization. one number that stands out is german exports is a percentage of the economy that accounts for 46% of the economy, roughly four times the amount

suggest chancellor angela merkel has been re—elected for a fourth term as chancellor and her centre—right cdul be the largest party in the federal parliament. the right—wing nationalist afd is celebrating a breakthrough, preparing to enter parliament for the first time. the i’ow parliament for the first time. the row between donald trump and leading figures in the sports world is escalating after the president used an obscenity to denounce players who fail to stand for the national anthem. the president of the regional government of iraqi kurdistan has vowed to press ahead with the referendum on independence despite increasing international opposition. at too, a full round—up of the day's news. now on bbc news, nawal al maghafi reports from yemen on this unfolding catastrophe in the country in our world — conflict and cholera: yemen's catastrophe. a warning — herfilm contains distressing images that viewers may find upsetting. yemen — the world's worst humanitarian disaster. as the richest countries in the arab world relentlessly batter the region's poorest, the west stands accused of complic

and that is what the people from the business camp, of course, see more likely, with a cdu/fdp liberal coalition this will happen, of course that's up in the air. in looking at the polls, they could have little majority if that's going to happen on the 24th of september we don't know yet. we will watch it carefully back to you. >> we are waiting with bated breath thank you very much for that >>> the number of european banks considered to be in danger increased sharply last year. according to a report by bane, 31 lenders were in the weakest category in 2016 compared to 23 the year before. this despite efforts by lenders to strengthen balance sheets and sure up profits. banks in southern europe fared the worst. >>> speaking at the forum over the weekend, the ceo of unicredit told cnbc there is no systemic risk for italian banks. >> what is happening in the first half of the year is very important for the italian banking sector thanks to the government action, and i think the government did the right thing in terms of rescuing on one side what is left to do is minor. and there's no more s

i asked him whether the result was disappointing for the cdu.tent that we have lost more percentages than expected. but we are very pleased and satisfied that this is a clear mandate to form the next german government. some people are talking about the so—called jamaica coalition with the centrist fdp and the greens. is it doable? i believe that every type of coalition will be a difficult choice because the socialists have lost so much votes, they have only left 20%. the green party and the liberal party have not so much common ground. but we have all to take our responsibility. and we cannot afford month and month of negotiating without coming to conclusions. during this process you say even by a fairly optimistic or positive outlook, a couple of months, some people say it could be several, it could even be january. what happens to policy and particularly from a uk perspective the german position on brexit? the german position on brexit is very clear. we want a reasonable result for both sides. and we are very, not only active, but we can take

you're sticking with your partly leader, martin schulz, also responsible for the bad results of the cdu spd why are you sticking to him as the party leader >> i think martin schulz led a remarkable campaign. he was elected as chairman of our party just half a year ago he started the reform process. it's very easy to just throw out leaders after loss of elections, but i don't think that's the right thing to do. i think many people in the social democratic party want martin schulz as leader of our party. we have elections for the leadership of the party in december marnt sh martin schulz is the right person to lead the party >> i think the internal power struggles have now just started. we have seen this agreement, the chief whip of the party in policy, so that's just the beginning of the story i think everybody keeping their feet quite -- keeping it very quiet at the moment before these upcoming elections in lower saxony it could be a bad sign also for them to lose another federal election this year so coalition talks only will start after the 15th of october in germany and could drag on

cooperation between the cdu nz israel and the spdr has. finished. was its latest been able to going back my became the chairman. of the spd i said that we would stick to argue promises lots of the end of this coalition but it's going to has been. one voted out of power people don't of you wanted to be on the world that we have been given is the world the opposition. antes islamists its and terms of a plan for social justice for this country. responsibility for europe contributed is islam this defending democratic principles in this country that if working together wih the ftp in the green party. you know it's like or do you think that might be at a minority government with changing majority. well first of all types i could say that i am to all bother sad. when i think that the good work that we did in the coalition has been characterized in this manner i believe we achieved. a great deal. for our country in the difficult situations and. waves works well together i think by safely state that. now in terms of the numbers there are two options performi

our top stories: angela merkel is set for a fourth term as chancellor as her cdu party wins the most we've had 12 years of governmental responsibility, and it is of course... it doesn't go without saying that we have yet again become the strongest party. a major breakthrough for the right wing nationalist afd as they enter parliament for the first time, pledging to hunt mrs merkel out of power. and a very poor night for the social democrats. we'll be asking what's the future for germany's centre—left. also in the programme: the king versus the president. why one of basketball‘s biggest names has picked a fight with donald trump.

he has been a member of the cdu, angela merkel's party. he has said a lot of controversial things and support for the nazi era german military. that strikes a strange tone. alexandra is much younger and a lesbian and in a partnership with a sri lankan lady. a very different phase of the afd. sarah: that is not really what you expect for a far right party. simon: it is not clear what she stands for, she seems to have become a bit more flexible. i think you can say that this new party in germany's parliament is keen to look good and like a normal party. first of all, to play by the rules and to make sure they don't trip on any technical difficulties. sarah: it seems like they are off to a rocky start. how do with their chances of appearing as a normal party? simon: it is very difficult. they have the media and the establishment against them. i am sure the current -- first question will be who will be the speaker of the party. it may well be that the other parties will say that we will say that we won't let you take that prominent role in par

the cdu way lower than polls expected and much lower than they hoped.vernment with one coalition, they nearly won an outright majority majority four years ago. how easy will it be? it will be herding cats. you have got the christian democrats, staunchly conservative who are worried what they call an open right flank towards the afd hold be looking to close it. on the other hand you have got the green party who will push for liberal positions on issues like refugees. you have got economic liberals who are pro the car industry. falling out with the greens is preprogrammed. we will be talking about what it means for brexit, but she has other things on her mind? look, in britain, we have always assumed that brexit is worth of greater interest. it is down the long list of global and european problems, angela merkel‘s attention will be focussed on her own government. if we have learnt one thing from this election and we have seen thing from this election and we have seen it in other countries, immigration matters? well, that's right. people used to say it's t

chancellor angela merkel whose cdu party won most seats is starting her fourth term in office and isl not be driven by the afd‘s populist agenda. 0ur correspondent gavin lee's report from berlin contains some flashing images. there's a new party in town. and they're talking of a revolution in german politics. the afd have emerged in the last four years, they're populist, anti—immigrant, anti—islam, and described as toxic by mainstream german parties. but with 12% of the vote, 5 million people supporting them, they're now the third biggest party in the bundestag, with a pledge to put german people first. translation: we will hunt them down. we'll hunt mrs merkel down, and we'll take back our country, and our people. but at this morning's press conference, cracks were already showing in the leadership, the group's chairwoman frauke petry announcing that she is leaving the party, telling reporters its rhetoric has become too extreme. this is one of the more deprived parts of berlin. in this eastern district, 20% of voters chose the alternative for germany. people here talk about being l

the cdu does not have any votes to squander.at support for schulz is running at 20% to 22%, and cdu support at 37%. if the stp gets a big -- a bad turn out, it will be the worst showing since world war ii, and of all time. joining us from lynn is the head of political analysis of a polling institute. how the -- how do these poll numbers strike you? there are a lot of voters undecided, and more in this election than any other, you will have a lot of voters who do not want to tell pollsters who they will cast their vote for on september 24. >> i would not overrate the number of folder -- voters. at the turnout in the last elections, we can assume we have a coder -- quarter who will not show up. the number of undecideds should be around 10%. there is certain movement, especially within the camps between the liberals, there could be movements between the social democrats and the left party. these will be crucial in the last two weeks of the campaign. matt: is there a risk of complacency? --candidate merkel is chancellor merkel is yo