Tag Archives: Friedrich Merz

German of the day: Herbst der Reformen

September 2, 2025 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

That means the autumn of reform.

It’s similar to the German spring, summer and winter of reform, only here nothing gets reformed in autumn.

Germany’s Merz faces trouble over ‘autumn of reform’ – Friedrich Merz has decided that the autumn must be the season for tackling Germany’s urgent domestic problems, but that means conflict with his center-left coalition partners.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s “autumn of reform” could turn into a season of coalition strife as he plows ahead with his ambitious plan to reform Germany’s welfare state, while bringing in tax reforms to boost the economy.

The challenges are significant: The German economy now faces a third year without GDP growth, the welfare state and pension system are failing to keep up with demographic challenges, and the federal budget has a hole of some €172 billion ($200 billion) for 2027 to 2029.

Better late than never

August 1, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Or is it already too late?

Germany is now leading the charge on Europe’s anti-immigration turn – Chancellor Merz’s new hardline course promises to accelerate the EU’s rightward pivot on migration as the bloc prepares to implement tough measures.

Past German governments sought to temper Europe’s most hardline impulses on migration. Now, under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Berlin is vying to lead Europe’s anti-immigration charge.

The stark shift in Germany’s migration stance under its new government promises to accelerate the EU’s hard-right turn on migration as the bloc prepares to implement a series of new measures aimed at drastically reducing the number of asylum seekers entering Europe — and deporting more of those who do make it. As European leaders negotiate on how to put these measures into place, those from some of the EU’s most hardline countries are welcoming Germany’s new role.

German of the day: Wahnhaft

June 27, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means delusional.

Merz ‘delusional’ over US sparing German cars in EU trade deal – Brussels has warned German chancellor not to expect UK-style carve-out for car sector in EU deal with Donald Trump.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is “delusional” in his expectation that Germany’s car industry will be spared from US tariffs, according to EU officials involved in trade talks with the Trump administration.

Merz has been pressing the European Commission, which manages trade policy on behalf of the EU’s 27 member states, to sign a “framework” deal with Washington aping the US-UK agreement signed earlier this month, which included a special dispensation for cars.

But Brussels officials have privately told Berlin that such an arrangement would not be possible, as reducing German car imports is a big focus for US President Donald Trump, two people briefed on the discussions told the Financial Times.

German of the day: Aller Anfang ist schwer

May 6, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helections, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means every beginning is hard.

And this one was hard to believe. And hard to follow.

Germany’s Merz becomes chancellor after surviving historic vote failure – Conservative leader Friedrich Merz has won a parliament vote to become Germany’s next chancellor at the second attempt.

Merz had initially fallen six votes short of the absolute majority he needed on Tuesday morning – a significant blow to his prestige and an unprecedented failure in post-war German history.

As it was a secret ballot in the 630-seat Bundestag, there was no indication who had refused to back him – whether MPs from his centre-left coalition partner or his own conservatives.

No place to run

March 18, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Except into debt?

“Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt.”

German parliament approves Merz’s historic spending surge – Germany’s parliament approved plans for a massive spending surge on Tuesday, throwing off decades of fiscal conservatism in hopes of reviving economic growth and scaling up military spending for a new era of European collective defence.

The approval in the Bundestag hands conservative leader Friedrich Merz a huge boost, giving the chancellor-in-waiting a windfall of hundreds of billions of euros to ramp up investment after two years of contraction in Europe’s largest economy…

“The politician’s greatest asset is credibility. With these embarrassing actions, Mr Merz, you have already completely squandered yours. The voters feel betrayed by you, and rightly so.”

English of the day: Debt overhall

March 5, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means to go bat shit crazy further into debt. Unnecessarily.

German taxpayers “contribute” a billion euros a year now. German politicians burn most of it. They have all the money they need. They just refuse to cut spending à la DOGE. This is a “conservative” planning to do this, mind you.

German parties agree on historic debt overhaul to revamp military and economy – The parties hoping to form Germany’s next government on Tuesday agreed to create a 500 billion euro infrastructure fund and overhaul borrowing rules in a tectonic spending shift to revamp the military and revive growth in Europe’s largest economy.

Friedrich Merz’s conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD), who are in negotiations to form a coalition after a national election last month, will put their proposals to the German parliament next week.

German of the day: Schlagabtausch

February 10, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helections Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means an exchange of blows. Or a debate, if you prefer.

German Chancellor candidates clash on Trump, the far-right and NATO – In the first duel ahead of the February 23 election, Merz portrayed Scholz as a ditherer who had led Germany into economic crisis, while the Social Democrat presented himself as an experienced leader in command of the details…

Merz, far ahead in the polls and the favourite to become Germany’s next chancellor, expressed reluctance to raise taxes or borrow to reach the NATO alliance’s defence spending target of 2% of gross domestic product, far short of the 5% Trump is demanding.

You can sure say that again

February 6, 2025 By in Helplessness, Hideology Tags: , , , Leave a comment

But why should such a wonderful development be seen as something to warn about?

The US is ‘no longer the America we used to know,’ warns Germany’s Merz.

Merz’s warning comes amid a whirlwind of personnel and agency slashes both within the U.S. federal government and to foreign aid since Trump took office. Since assuming the presidency, Trump’s administration has sent mass emails offering “deferred resignations” to all federal workers, sacked multiple federal watchdogs, and gotten rid of dozens of prosecutors who were involved in criminal cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.

The country has also frozen foreign aid and announced moves to put nearly all staff members at the U.S. Agency for International Development on paid leave.

Trump has also announced ambitions to take control of the Gaza Strip, of Greenland and of the Panama Canal, not ruling out the use of military force.

“Startlingly aggressive?”

February 3, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I’d say it’s more like “refreshingly different.”

Merz doubles down on gambit with German far right in combative speech – Prospective chancellor takes startlingly aggressive line against those protesting against gamble with AfD.

The German conservative opposition leader, Friedrich Merz, whose party is widely tipped to win this month’s general election, defended his hardline migration proposals after a wave of protests accused him of breaching the time-honoured “firewall” between the far right and centrists.

In an uncompromising speech to a party congress of his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Berlin, Merz said he was confident they would win the 23 February vote “with a very good result”, well ahead of the anti-immigration, anti-Islam Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which has been consistently placing second in the polls.

Five days after passing a non-binding resolution on border policy with the votes of the far right – marking a historic breach of a taboo – Merz renewed a promise to bar any formal cooperation with the AfD in future.

“We will not work with the Alternative für Deutschland – not before [the election], not after – never,” he said to a lengthy standing ovation from delegates.

German of the day: Abweichler

January 31, 2025 By in Hard Facts, Helplessness Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

That means dissenters.

As in dissenters within your own party. In this case, Germany’s CDU.

Germany’s parliament rejects radical migration plan – Greens and SPD earlier refused to support the Influx Limitation Act amid fierce criticism from Merkel over Merz’s cooperation with AfD…

The highly-controversial proposal, put forward by the CDU/CSU opposition party which leads in the polls, failed to secure a majority in the Bundestag, despite the backing of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland.