We should work more and more efficiently, Mr. Merz? Then deliver first!

Friedrich Merz is now Chancellor. And like a CEO holding the ailing balance sheet of a mediocre corporation, he looks at Germany and says: "There's still room for improvement." More hours, more commitment, more work. Merz is calling for a performance march. To achieve this, he says, it's necessary to work "more and, above all, more efficiently." No more of the watered-down work-life balance ; now it's time to work hard—for the nation, for the economic recovery, of course.

Specifically: One more hour for everyone – voila, the eight-hour day is over. According to Merz, that's "reasonable." And practical, too: With 40 million employed people, that translates to 1.8 million additional full-time jobs. No migration , no retraining, no witchcraft – simple as that, baby.

And on paper? Yes, it almost looks clever, even makes sense. According to the OECD , Germany ranks in the bottom third with 1,349 working hours per year. The USA: 1,791. South Korea: 1,910. Mexico: over 2,100. Sure, by comparison, German workers seem like the vacationers of the siesta faction—even though we're by far among the most productive in the world.

But statistics aside, CDU politician Merz unfortunately forgets one small detail in his calculation: Who on earth is supposed to put in the extra hour? In many areas, like the start-up scene , the time-clock mentality has long since vanished. But what about the single mother, or even one with a partner, who daily struggles through a Tetris level of daycare, job, homework, official business, and lunchboxes – with a system that has been regularly breaking down for years? Inflexible working hours, daycare centers closing far too early, and so on and so forth.

By 2024, 68 percent of mothers with children under 18 worked part-time . Not for fun, but because they often have no other choice. For mothers with children under three, the figure is a whopping 73 percent. And now a few extra hours because the Chancellor calculates working hours like others do in Excel?

Mothers, in particular, often work part-time. Annette Riedl/dpa

The compatibility of work and family life has been a political shambles in Germany for years. Daycare places? Rare. All-day schools? A stroke of luck. Childcare gaps? Systemic. On top of that, working mothers are still looked at askance, as if they'd just insulted the stove. In Sweden, they call it gainful employment; in Germany, they call it "raven mother ." Because, of course, instead of leisurely boiling organic cotton diapers and organic carrots into mush, these women also want to pursue careers. Or maybe just pay the rent. Rising living costs are difficult to offset with applause and the eventual payment of a mother's pension.

So when Merz demands that "Germany must make more of an effort," the question arises: Who exactly is he referring to? The DAX board member with two nannies? The tax consultant working from home ? Or perhaps the cashier with two children, an early shift, and hardly any childcare?

Of course, we have a shortage of skilled workers . Of course, a collective effort is needed to get Germany back on track for economic success. But instead of reflexively reaching for the time clock, we could seriously ask ourselves: Why don't so many people work full-time? And what would have to change for them to be able to—and want to?

Children in a daycare center: There's often a lack of places, and opening hours are often far removed from the reality of working life. Boris Roessler/dpa

Want answers? Voilà: Nationwide, free daycare and after-school care. A tax reform that rewards individual taxation instead of the stay-at-home model. A care system that doesn't automatically lead to the part-time trap. And above all: more respect for working mothers, instead of latent moral stalking by society. It's worth looking to Scandinavia or France. They can do it. Why can't we?

Oh yes, and money . Because if you want more, you have to offer more: higher wages, more pension points, more security. Not just the moral call to "serve one's country."

So far, Chancellor Merz has offered nothing in return other than a sense of duty and slogans of perseverance. Sorry, but that's not enough. Because as long as people have to choose between making a sandwich and suffering from burnout, every additional hour of work isn't a patriotic heroic act—it's simply an imposition.

The proposal is therefore not entirely wrong. It is merely half-baked. Like so many political ideas of recent years. Briefly thrown into the ring, there is reason to fear that Merz will duck the idea of ​​a genuine restructuring of society. Anyone who wants to extend working hours will have to do so and overhaul many things. Anyone who follows Mexico's example should at least provide childcare like Stockholm.

Otherwise, his proposal remains what it truly is: a proposal for Germany. But not for those who run this country every day, and certainly not for those who are already walking a tightrope. But the main thing is that we've talked about it.