the cdu is still gaining momentum, up to 31%. the afd almost breaking into 21%.ink about the afd getting a lot of prominence in the news recently with elon musk about a month ago deciding he has a really great interest in german politics and backing the afd, calling olaf scholz an incompetent fool, calling the president of germany an antidemocratic tyrant and causing concern across the mainstream political spectrum in germany, not least of all for the spd. they have other reasons to be concerned because they are in third, olaf scholz's party still under 17% and the greens coming in at 12%. but we don't talk about is where is the support concentrated for these different parties? if we move on to the map. apart from elon musk, support for the afd is really concentrated in eastern germany. this is the former communist east. these two regions of saxony and lower saxony is held by the cdu by only one or two points, the afd stronghold is in the east. the other thing when you look at this map is there is not a lot of red. olaf scholz's across the country has entirely co

jury selection was cdued, the same rules of evidence were followed. opinstatements were made. witnesses called and cross-examined. evidence presented, summations delivere distinct burden of proof was applied and a jury made of ordinary citizens delivered a verdict. it was all conducted psut to the rules of procedure and guided by law. of course, part of what made it feel somewhat ordinary was the tsndingork, preparation and professionalism of the clerks, court officers, court reporters, security personnel and staff of this bldg who did their jobs as they wou with any other criminal trial. while e n argue the trial itself was in many respects ornary, the same cannot be id about the circumstances surrounding this sentencing. that is because of the office he once occupied and which you will so oupy again. to be sur iis the legal protections afforded to the office of theredent of the u.s. that are extraordinary. not the occupant of the office. the legal protections especially within the context of the criminal prosecution afforded to the ofcef esent have been laid out by our found

the polls you highlighted suggest the cdu returning to the lead.uestions where germany is going do go in terms of fiscal policy going forward. given the cdu role in the past in developing the current economic model germany has, do you think they can actually reform it? >> on the campaign trail, i doubt we'll see any of the conservatives talk about loosening the debt brake, but when coalition talks do occur and most likely the cdu will invite coalition talks with the spd and greens to weigh who to form a coalition with, i think the debt brake is on the table because generals rmany is in ne next generation reform and investment and spending. all of these things need to be hashed out in order for germany to move forward and act as a leader within europe. >> right. we appreciate your time this morning. sudha, director of the berlin office and senior fellow. >>> on to one of the developing stories. ten people have now been confirmed dead as wildfires continue to ravage southern california. 10,000 homes and structures have been destroyed and 180,000 peop

the cdu will not be able to govern alone.d a coalition partner, probably from the centre—left, most likely the social democrats again. they seem a bit more reticent when it comes to these reforms. so we need to see how much we get in the end, but our baseline would be that we see at least some reforms going forward. in the us prices edged up more than expected in december, driven higher by food and energy costs. consumer prices rose 0.4 percent last month, after climbing 0.3 percent in november. this means that in the 12 months to december price rose 2.9 percent up from a 2.7 percent rise in november. the federal reserve reserve's inflation target is 2 percent. earlier today we also had inflation figures for the united kingdom that also showed prices up 2.5% in the same period — an unexpected fall in inflation for the first time in three months. now back to matthew. breaking news. we have been watching those developments. as we edge towards a ceasefire deal between israel and hamas. hamas telling the bbc in the last few minut

but as far as i was aware, all other parties are working with her, and the leading candidate is the cduright. why is he not talking to him? >> good question. obviously, alice weidel is somebody who is kind of a soulmate in terms of his thinking, libertarian politics, his ideological background. quite frankly, i think they also have one thing in common, they have both been in high finance communities. i think you just found somebody he has a lot of common denominators in. christian: some of the facts that put -- that she put out there are questionable and need to be fact checked, but things that you put out that resonated with voters are energy, the decision to close down nuclear energy when we are at a fuel crisis in europe, and the level of taxes in germany. that will resonate, will it not? >> the energy prices are higher. basic issues will be how they bring them down. on the tax issue, yes, germany is a high tax country. what i said before, basically, most voters will focus on three things. the economy, the immigration issue, how to get that under control, and about that anxiety of th

do you think when you think about the fact that the cdu leading the polls and the current economic modelmany, they will be in the position to reform it? >> they sort of heard they need to reform and they made some proposals. not all of them are perfect as is the case in politics, but at least they seem to be going that way. then, of course, they will need a coalition partner. the spd probably a bit more retiscent on behalf of what we get some reforms at least. probably not enough to get anywhere close to the growth rates we have seen in recent decades. >> that's where i have my questions, really, because it seems the community of economists is very clear on that. whatever we are going to get post-election is not going to make a material difference for the economy. why when clearly there's a lot of pressures on the german economy and manufacturing? something needs to be done. >> the problem germany faces they have a lot of different drags on the economy. basically all production factors are going to contribute less in the future to growth than in the past. we have adverse developments in