On the air of the political program “Berlin direkt“ on the German public television ZDF, Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a comprehensive review of his administration and commented on the current political turmoil in Berlin.
His statement comes just hours after the chairman of the parliamentary group of the CDU/CSU coalition, Jens Spahn, resigned due to a scandal related to the legalization of surrogacy in the United States.
Jens Spahn's resignation and government overhaul
Chancellor Merz openly distanced himself from his party colleague and criticized his delayed communication on the case. He told host Diana Zimmermann that he had been informed "in the background and very, very late."
data-sfc-cb="" data-sfc-root="ep" jsaction="" jscontroller="zYmgkd#vvzi1e" jsuid="roFgAd_x">upcoming Kabinettsumbildung (cabinet reshuffle) in Germany.
The economy and the demands for higher productivity
The German chancellor has strongly defended his neoliberal reforms and his call for citizens to work more overtime. He rejected accusations that he was insulting German workers, explaining the structural nature of the problems:
„I have never accused anyone of personal laziness. But the total number of hours worked in Germany is currently too low. If we want to continue to afford this welfare state, we have to work together for it. Overall, we need to show higher productivity and I stand by this statement categorically.“
Crisis of confidence in democracy
Merz expressed serious concern about the radicalization of the political tone in the Bundestag before the summer recess. He accused the opposition parties on the left and right (the Greens, the Left and the AfD) of endangering stability with personal attacks:
- „Personal undermining of authority“ by political forces harms democracy.
- „Germany must not slip“ into political extremism, and the political center must be strengthened.
- “Eternal criticality and pessimism“ stop the development of the country, despite the available economic potential.