10:19⇢Merz Clinches Union's Chancellor Candidacy
⌨The newspapers report extensively on the Union's chancellor candidacy decision. Friedrich Merz is set to become the candidate, with Markus Söder stepping aside (FR, Junge Freiheit, Spiegel, Stuttgarter Zeitung, Sueddeutsche, Welt, Zeit, merkur.de). A joint press conference by Merz and Söder is scheduled to officially announce this development. Meanwhile, severe flooding in the Czech Republic has led to the evacuation of over 100,000 people (Neues Deutschland).