Cabinet members (L-R) German Minister for Research, Technology and Aerospace Dorothee Baer, German Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Baerbel Bas and German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt as well as Chief of Staff and Minister for Special Tasks Thorsten Frei (R) applaud as German Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil (3rd R) hands over a bouquet of flowers to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (2nd R) for his 70th birthday at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin on November 12, 2025. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP) (Photo by TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images)