The annual summer press conference with the German chancellor is one of the last public events before the holidays.
Friedrich Merz will also be going on vacation soon, and the Federal Press Conference Room in the German capital, Berlin, was packed with journalists eager to hear what he would say.
They were greeted by a chancellor who appeared to be quite content with himself — and that despite poor poll numbers, with only between 13% and 20% of people in Germany satisfied with how he and his coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats are doing their jobs.
"The coalition has found its footing," said Merz. "The outcome has been positive," he continued. "The federal government has found its rhythm, despite some criticism. We've delivered." He was referring to reforms — adopted but not yet approved by Parliament — pertaining to pensions, healthcare and taxes, which he went on to elaborate on in detail.
He specifically mentioned reforms to the pension system, which will allocate a small portion of retirement funds toward investments for the first time. "We should have done this 30 years ago, just like the Swedes, the Danes, the Dutch and many others around the world who did it long ago. But at least we're starting now," Merz said.
