FILE - A European, left, and two German flags fly under a cloudy sky at the Place of the Republic in Berlin, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011. German politics are in a disgruntled, volatile state as the country's voters prepare to fill 96 of the 720 seats at the European Parliament on June 9, the biggest single national contingent in the 27-nation European Union. It's the first nationwide vote since center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz took power in late 2021. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)