German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (C) and members of his cabinet pose for a family photo during a two-day meeting of the German federal cabinet at the Villa Borsig, guesthouse of the German Foreign Ministry, in Berlin on September 30, 2025: (first row, sitting, L-R): the German government's spokesman Stefan Kornelius, Chief of Staff and Minister for Special Tasks Thorsten Frei, German Health Minister Nina Warken, German Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Baerbel Bas, German Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche, German Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, German Minister for Research, Technology and Aerospace Dorothee Baer, German Minister for Digitalization and State Modernization Karsten Wildberger, German Minister for Agriculture Alois Rainer and German Minister of State for Federal-State Cooperation Michael Meister, (row behind, L-R): State Minister and the Federal Government's Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration Natalie Pawlik, State Minister and the Federal Government's Commissioner for Eastern Germany Elisabeth Kaiser, German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Reem Alabali-Radovan, German Minister of State for Europe in the Foreign Office Gunther Krichbaum, German Minister for Justice and Consumer Protection Stefanie Hubig, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, German Minister for Education, Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Karin Prien, German Minister for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Carsten Schneider, German Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Building Verena Hubertz and German State Minister for Sport and Voluntary Work Christiane Schenderlein. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP) (Photo by JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)