Berlin. Astrid Hamker, president of the CDU Economic Council, has called on Chancellor Friedrich Merz to show stronger leadership. "I expect significantly more leadership from a chancellor," she told Focus news magazine. Hamker urged Merz to exercise his executive authority more decisively.
CDU ally slams Chancellor Merz for weak leadership and stalled reforms
The chancellor must not allow internal coalition disputes to paralyze the country, she warned. "I believe he has what it takes to quickly turn this image around—if the promised reforms finally materialize," Hamker added. One year after the formation of the conservative-Social Democrat coalition, she gave the federal government's performance a grade of "unsatisfactory," noting that while many reforms had been pledged, far too few had been implemented.
Hamker was sharply critical of Merz's domestic policy record, describing his coalition management as "barely adequate" at best. Despite holding a strong mandate, she argued, the chancellor had failed to assert himself against the SPD, which serves only as the junior partner in the government. In contrast, she praised Merz's foreign policy as "excellent," crediting him with restoring Germany's standing on the global stage. "That is the chancellor's achievement," Hamker said.
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