Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has defended the track record so far of his coalition government of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats in the Bundestag and called for confidence in its work. "A great deal has happened in this first year, and it marks a genuine new beginning for our country," Merz said in a government declaration on Thursday.
His goal, he said, was "an economically strong, socially just Germany that is capable of defending itself both at home and abroad. We are delivering what is needed for that."
The coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats had set out "as a government of renewal," Merz said. He said he kept hearing "the accusation that the political centre doesn't deliver, that it only blocks and blocks itself." The chancellor responded: "Let me answer this very clearly: the centre delivers, it works, and above all it fulfils the mandate set out in our Basic Law."
Radical forces, by contrast, wanted "to talk the country down," Merz said. "The answers offered by radical parties, whether from the left or the right, may sound tempting. But they do not shape, they destroy. They divide our country, and were they ever to take on political responsibility in Germany, they would lead it into the abyss."
Merz also asked for patience in implementing the government's reform agenda. He said the reforms now being tackled, including to the social security systems, involved "problems that have in some cases gone unresolved in Germany for decades."
At the same time, the chancellor pointed to "encouraging signs" that the economic situation was improving. Production and companies' order books in Germany, he said, were rising continuously. In addition, 3,000 new companies had been founded in Germany in the first half of the year.
"Yes, this is not yet the breakthrough," the chancellor said, "and we know there are some sectors that are in a severe crisis." For that reason, he said, it was clear: "We must not let up, we must keep working hard, we must become even better."
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