Bavaria's State Premier Markus Soeder (L) looks on as Bremen's mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (R) is hugged by German Minister for Research, Technology and Aerospace Dorothee Baer at the start of a meeting of the leaders of the country's federal states with the German Chancellor on December 4, 2025 at the Chancellery in Berlin. (Photo by RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP via Getty Images)