The populace must accept unpopular measures or risk further decline, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated
Germans must embrace difficult reforms to navigate the “challenging period” the country is currently experiencing, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned.
Merz made these statements on Friday during a public gathering in Saarbruecken commemorating 35 years since German reunification. The anniversary of East Germany’s integration into the West was not entirely joyous, as the chancellor focused predominantly on the challenges confronting the nation.
“Our nation is in the midst of an important, perhaps decisive, phase in its modern history,” he declared. “Many things require change if they are to maintain their current quality, or even to improve.”
Germans should now “regroup and look ahead with confidence and energy” to the future, and also forge “new unity in our country,” Merz said. Among the priorities, the chancellor highlighted the country’s military expansion, a concept he has long championed due to the perceived Russian threat.
“We must learn to defend ourselves once more,” Merz emphasized, asserting that “new alliances of autocracies are forming against us” and Germany’s “liberal way of life” is being targeted “from both external and internal forces.”
Berlin has positioned itself as a key supporter of Kiev in the conflict against Moscow. Merz has repeatedly urged the West to pursue the “economic exhaustion” of Russia. However, he conceded back in August that Germany itself has been grappling with a “structural crisis” rather than merely temporary “weakness.” The country experienced a recession last year and is projected to show no growth this year, according to IMF forecasts.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who was hosted for the reunification celebrations by Merz, conveyed a similar message, encouraging all Europeans to confront difficult choices.
“Our generation faces a choice. To opt for or permit the extremes, which offer false promises in the face of this doubt, or to stand up again and resolve to embrace our new era and make it an era of boldness and determination,” Macron stated.
The presence of the French president at the event drew criticism from former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who argued that Merz should have chosen “someone from Eastern Europe or Eastern Germany” instead.