Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government was weighed down by weakness and vulnerability before it even began. During his election campaign, he promised lower taxes, more growth, and tougher border controls. But so far, he has delivered very little. After almost three months in office, he has struggled to keep his head above water, battling coalition infighting, domestic stagnation, and public disillusionment. The German public—having not been that enthusiastic about Merz in the first place—are thoroughly unimpressed. Approval ratings for Merz’s first 100 days are far worse than his predecessor’s, Olaf Scholz. In fact, a mere 28 % of Germans are satisfied with the work his government has done so far. On a personal level, two-thirds of voters see Merz as untrustworthy—no wonder, as he kicked off his chancellorship by bypassing parliament to introduce a €500 billion spending programme, which never once appeared in his party’s manifesto.
