Chancellor Merz Defiesโ Pension Critics, Links Domestic Policy to Global Security Threats
BERLIN โค- Chancellorโฃ Friedrich Merz forcefully defendedโฃ his government’s pension โpolicyโฃ and signaled a firm commitment to navigating broader geopolitical challenges, directly addressing โinternal dissent within his own party and escalating tensions โคwith Russia. Speaking today, Merz rebuked calls โfor deeper โcuts โขto theโ pension system, framing such โฃproposals as irresponsible and dangerously shortsighted given the escalating global โฃinstability.
The Chancellor’s โremarks come amid growing pressure from within the CDU, especially from younger โmembers who advocate for โmore aggressive reforms to Germany’s retirement system. This dispute centers on the government’s decision to โคmaintain โฃthe current โpension level โคuntil 2031 -โ a โขcompromise with the SPD that extends the current system two years beyond the CDU’s initial preference, โขbut seven years less thenโค the SPD desired. Merz indicated โa willingness โtoโ consider aโค comprehensive โoverhaulโข ofโ the pension system after โฃ 2031, possibly including a revised calculationโฃ formula, but insisted โขnow is not the time for radical change.
Merz directly referenced past criticism, โขrepeating the phraseโฃ “Who isโข actually offering less?” -โข the sameโฃ wording that drew โsharp rebuke at a recent Junge Union convention – as a pointed challenge to โขthose advocating for further โreductions. He simultaneously highlighted a key policy win, theโ introduction of an “Aktivrente” (active retirement) scheme, originally proposed by the CDU during the election campaign, โwhich will be included in โคthe upcomingโฃ pension package.Merzโ emphasized this isโค “not a taxโค gift, but the entry point to a โlonger working life.”
Shifting focus โคto the broader geopolitical landscape,Merzโฃ warned that Germany has grown accustomed to eight โขdecades of peace and freedom,an era heโ believes is โnowโข over. Heโค cited the rise โof China, former President Trump’s trade policies, and,โข most substantially, Russia’s ongoing war inโข Ukraine – characterizing the โขlatter as “military violence every day” – as evidence of a fundamentallyโข altered โขglobal โคsecurity surroundings. โ
“If we lose sight of what is at stake now, โคour children and grandchildren will make bitterโ accusations against us,” Merz cautioned, a messageโ seemingly directed at internalโฃ critics within the โCDU. โHe underscored his determination to prioritize these โคlarger challenges, stating โunequivocally,โค “Nothing and no one willโ prevent me from making the rightโ decisions in difficult times” – including confronting extremism from both the left and right. The Chancellor’s strong stance signals โa willingness to withstandโฃ internal opposition to maintain focus โon what he views as โGermany’s most pressing priorities: safeguardingโข national security and responsible economic stewardship.
