Germany's Merz to return from holiday with visit to wildfire-hit area

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will make his first public appearance after his return from holiday on Saturday, visiting the area affected by a massive forest fire.

A government spokesman announced on Friday that Merz will travel to the Hürtgen forest to thank the emergency services on the ground who fought the largest fire in the history of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Merz is to speak with emergency responders and gather information on the course of the operation and the situation on the ground.

A major fire raged for a week in the Eifel region during the latest heatwave to hit Germany this summer. On Thursday, the mayor of the municipality gave the all-clear.

So far, the chancellor has only thanked the emergency services via X, saying he was being kept informed of developments.

Germany's opposition parties accused him of inaction. Green Party parliamentary group leader Katharina Dröge told broadcaster RTL that "Friedrich Merz seems to be hoping that, whilst he is on holiday and nobody can see him, nobody will even think that he might be responsible for tackling the consequences of the climate crisis."

Merz's office deliberately avoids referring to this period without scheduled appointments as a holiday, the chancellor kept himself constantly informed of current events. For example, he held a video conference of the National Security Council after an explosive-laden drone was discovered at Leipzig Airport.