Audi CEO faces backlash over Trump rally

German cruise operator Tui Cruises has canceled a 20-day voyage to the Canary Islands after its cruise ship “Mein Schiff 3” collided with two container vessels in the northern port of Bremerhaven.

Tugboats were helping the nearly fully booked cruise ship, carrying 2,428 passengers and 922 crew members, leave port on Sunday evening when a gust of wind pushed it toward two moored container ships, police said.

All three vessels sustained damage. One container ship suffered extensive damage to its port side, with several meters of its hull torn open above the waterline. The cruise ship also suffered significant damage, including to its lifeboats and bridge.

There were no injuries or water ingress on any of the vessels. All three ships have been temporarily prohibited from leaving port while investigations continue.

Tui Cruises said technical experts had inspected the vessel and determined that repairs at a shipyard were necessary, forcing the cancellation of the planned voyage.

The company described the cancellation as “the only responsible decision,” stressing that passenger and crew safety remained its highest priority.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier are departing on separate Asian tours to strengthen economic and diplomatic ties.

Merz will visit Singapore, Japan and South Korea on his longest overseas trip since taking office, accompanied by a high-level business delegation. He is seeking to broaden Germany’s partnerships and reduce dependence on individual countries.

In Singapore, he will hold political talks and deliver a major foreign policy speech before traveling to Japan. In South Korea, he will attend an Asia-Pacific business conference and visit the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea.

Steinmeier will make his second state visit to China, pressing for fairer trade relations and action to address economic imbalances, according to his office.

He is expected to speak at Peking University on Thursday and meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Friday.

Steinmeier also wants China to take greater international responsibility, including using its close ties with Moscow to help end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Germany’s IG Metall union chief Christiane Benner has sharply criticized Audi CEO Gernot Döllner for appearing onstage at a campaign rally with US President Donald Trump.

Benner called the appearance “deeply embarrassing, politically unacceptable” and unworthy of Audi and its employees. She also accused Döllner of breaching the company’s political neutrality rules.

Audi’s code of conduct, published in April and signed by Döllner, bars public appearances with parties or politicians standing for election, and sponsorship of their events, during the three months before a vote.

Trump announced plans for an Audi factory in Georgia at Saturday’s rally, with Döllner alongside him. The plant would produce around 200,000 vehicles annually, mainly large SUVs.

Benner stressed that the project still required approval, with the final decision “rightly and importantly” resting with Volkswagen’s supervisory board, “with the full picture in mind.”

She said employee representatives wanted safeguards for German sites alongside a clear North American strategy for Volkswagen and Audi. While acknowledging the US market’s importance, she said IG Metall’s priority was employment prospects in Germany.

Guten Tag from DW’s newsroom in Bonn.

You join us as the boss of carmaker Audi faces serious criticism back home after sharing a stage with US President Donald Trump.

Gernot Döllner appeared alongside Trump at a campaign rally in Georgia on Saturday, where the president announced plans for a new $4 billion (€3.4 billion) Audi factory in the state.

And Germany’s powerful IG Metall union is far from impressed.

Meanwhile, Germany’s two most senior political figures are heading east to Asia — but they’re taking very different routes.

Stay with us here for these stories and more of what Germany is talking about today.