Merz: We were simply lucky for 80 years, that era is over now

Speaking at an economic conference in North Rhine-Westphalia, Merz pointed out that Germany faces a double challenge. On the one hand, the country is being shaken by global geo-economic upheavals, while on the other hand, it is being pressed by its own structural pains accumulated over the years.

“We are witnessing a profound historical turn that every generation experiences only once,” said Merz. He emphasized that the scale of these changes penetrates into every pore of society, and that this will require far-reaching reforms.

Germany’s Chancellor Merz:

We are witnesses to a profound historical rupture — the kind every generation experiences once in its lifetime.

We, the people born after the Second World War, were simply lucky until now.

But now, 80 years after the end of the Second World War, we are… pic.twitter.com/AorV82RPme

— Clash Report (@clashreport) May 6, 2026

The chancellor particularly pointed out that the situation in which Germany finds itself is not just an ordinary, temporary crisis, but a real historical change of era. “We, who were born after the Second World War, were simply lucky until now. But now, 80 years after the end of the war, we are experiencing what every generation experienced in the past centuries, and now it’s our turn, although only after eight decades,” he added.

Merz underlined that Germany has already stepped into the reform process and that his government plans to further accelerate these changes, regardless of the fact that social and political pressures are getting stronger.

His exit comes at a time of increasing pressure from the business community in North Rhine-Westphalia. Entrepreneurs there openly called on the authorities to show more “reformist courage”, stressing their frustration with what they see as too slow a pace of introducing necessary changes, reports Index.hr.

All this is happening on a rather unstable political ground. The ruling coalition of the CDU, CSU, and SPD has just completed its first year in power, and during that time, voter support has been steadily dwindling.

At the same time, the right-wing opposition is profiting strongly. Support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has increased in numerous polls, and in some cases they have reached levels that make them equal with the strongest political forces in the country.

(Vijesti.ba)