Merz stated the end of the "era of prosperity" in Germany

German residents can no longer count on the same level of stability and well-being, because over the past 20 years, the political elite and social movements have underestimated the changes taking place in the world. This was announced on April 29 by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine.

"Most of the population and the political class underestimate what is happening in the world right now. Please don't take this as a reproach, but we are too comfortable in an atmosphere of universal well—being," the politician said.

Merz pointed out that he risks being criticized, but he will still be the first German chancellor in the last two decades to explicitly declare that the German illusion of eternal prosperity will not last. Therefore, serious reforms are needed in the tax, pension and healthcare sectors.

"We can't just continue in the same spirit as the last 20 years. I took the oath, and I have a conscience — both impose obligations on me. Maybe I should put my thoughts in a more elegant form or speak in a friendlier way. But the situation is so serious that I will not shy away from it," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

The Troika is struggling: the German car industry is predicted to die by 2030

Prominent German economists admit that the industry is doomed

In February, the Tagesschau newspaper reported that the economic council of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party called for the abolition of some social benefits while reducing taxes and social contributions in order to stimulate the economy amid the presence of more than 3 million unemployed in the country. The Secretary General of the Economic Council, Wolfgang Steiger, pointed out that politicians should finally do everything possible to renew the promise of improving the welfare of citizens.