German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking at his annual summer press conference in Berlin on July 15, 2026, said he opposes U.S. involvement in German elections, noting that Germany does not meddle in American elections and that foreign funding of German political parties is illegal. He was responding to reported U.S. programs supporting European political and civil groups, which critics say could benefit Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). With state elections upcoming in September in Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania—where polls show the AfD leading in two—Merz also warned that a far-right party entering government would carry a unique weight because of Germany’s past, and he pledged to prevent it.