Like Popeye after a spinach overdose: Why Merz is already collecting black eyes
Friedrich Merz's first government statement sounded as if he wanted to pull the country together. A lot of pathos, little plan. A commentary.
Friedrich Merz stands slightly leaning forward at the lectern, as if about to take a run-up. It's his first major speech as Chancellor after an election that didn't exactly boast strong results. Second round, a slow start, a slight setback. But now: his voice heavy, rather quiet, his gaze firm, his pose statesmanlike. The message: Now, decisive action is needed.
The Chancellor spoke for 45 minutes on Wednesday in his first government statement. He spoke about exertion, responsibility, security, prosperity. About a new government that doesn't talk, but acts. Merz also spoke about himself, saying that as a child of the 1970s and 1980s, he was still trained to look only forward and achieve a lot. The message is clear: Merz wants to restructure, push through, "make Germany fit," ideally setting many things back to the economic golden age of the 1950s. And he doesn't want to be an administrator. But anyone who listens closely will realize: he still has far too much muscle, not enough muscle fibers.
He represents politics in high-pressure mode. Merz increasingly resembles the comic character Popeye after an overdose of spinach. High-strung, his veins bulging, ready to punch his political opponent at any moment. And he's charging ahead: stricter border controls , welfare state rhetoric with a pedagogical approach to beatings, a tone somewhere between "Nobody wants to discuss things anymore" and "Now it's time to clean things up." Anyone who disagrees hasn't understood the seriousness of the situation. Anyone who puts the brakes on stands in the nation's way. And when things don't go as planned, they rule by decree – preferably bypassing parliament.
The most recent example: the national emergency in migration policy . First, it was announced with great fanfare, then a subtle "uh, no, not really," and finally a rearguard action at the EU level. Poker face gone wrong .
Many of the Chancellor's proposals often seem, even on this Wednesday, like something from a 1990s gym: work harder, less security, more performance, less complaining. Welfare state ? Gateway drug to laziness. Work-life balance? Wimpy stuff. The four-day week? A joke. Much of it sounds rugged but remains completely impractical. One misses the middle ground instead of a culture war against the supposed zeitgeist.
And solutions are lacking. Even more urgent than campaigns against work ethic would be to finally reduce the tax and bureaucratic burden on companies. But the new coalition has put this on the back burner. A fatal signal to Germany as a business location.
Merz has already earned himself a few black eyes as a result. His 30-day ultimatum to Vladimir Putin was coldly ignored by Moscow. His response was to defiantly announce further sanctions, the effect of which remains unclear. He isn't talking about them this Wednesday. Instead, he dramatically warns that the war in Ukraine will decide nothing less than the future of law and order in Europe—or a return to tyranny. Pathos instead of a plan.
Merz's first government statement: Now he must deliverAnother dead ringer is the bold announcement that Germany is now to become the "strongest armed forces in Europe" – a project that will take years, swallow billions, and is currently characterized more by supply bottlenecks than by effective rearmament. And as if all that weren't ambitious enough, Merz declares that the country will now "build, build, build" – in response to the housing shortage. A new intergenerational contract is needed, he announces. Big words, big ambitions, big goals. But those who only produce headlines and constantly bounce off the political concrete should slowly realize: with every ineffective announcement, the collection of black eyes grows.
Merz received a lot of applause on Wednesday after his statement in the Bundestag; perhaps he's fulfilling exactly what many in politics expect. But one must not forget: bravado is no substitute for coordination. Spinach in, fist out – but politics isn't a cartoon. Anyone who really wants to get something done doesn't need catchy speeches, but majorities, tact, and, again, compromises. Merz has to deliver. Without his spinach, Popeye is just a skinny sailor with a big mouth.
Berliner-zeitung
