{"id":14427,"date":"2026-05-15T16:05:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T16:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/14427\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T16:05:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T16:05:07","slug":"contrite-merz-says-he-must-communicate-better-after-lazy-germans-spat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/14427\/","title":{"rendered":"Contrite Merz Says He Must Communicate Better After ‘Lazy’ Germans Spat"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Markus Wacket and Matthias Williams<\/p>\n

BERLIN, May 15 (Reuters) – \u2060Chancellor \u2060Friedrich Merz, in contrite mood \u2060as his popularity among voters sags, said on Friday he had \u200bto improve his ability to communicate, insisting for example he had never meant to call \u200cthe German people “lazy”.<\/p>\n

Merz has languished in \u200cthe polls since coming to power a year ago, trying to gee up growth \u2060in Europe’s \u2060largest economy and fend off the rise of the far-right Alternative \u200bfor Germany (AfD) in an increasingly fragmented political landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I have been increasingly preoccupied with the question of why I am apparently failing to adequately reach and convince the people of this country that \u200bthe path we are trying to take in government… is the right one, one \u2060that \u2060also creates an emotional connection \u2060and gets \u200bthe public on board,” Merz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I know that I need to improve my communication \u200bso that this message is \u2060better understood,” he told a Catholic convention in the city of Wuerzburg.<\/p>\n

Only 16% of voters are satisfied with Merz, the lowest rating for any chancellor, according to a DeutschlandTREND survey this month.<\/p>\n

Merz annoyed Germans, who work some of the shortest hours in the European \u2060Union, by saying that habits such as four-day working weeks or taking overly \u2060long sick leave were harming the country’s competitiveness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“No one in my party has ever said that people in Germany are lazy, not even me, no, no, no,” he said.<\/p>\n

“No, I’ve pointed out that, for example, a country like Switzerland has 200 more working hours per year than Germany, and Switzerland is demonstrably better off than we are.”<\/p>\n

Merz has recently sought to dispel suggestions that his conservatives’ coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) might collapse amid tussles over tax, \u2060health and welfare.<\/p>\n

“Perhaps we’re currently arguing too much and achieving too few results,” he said on Friday.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Opinion polls currently put Merz’s conservatives up to five points behind the AfD, while the SPD is struggling for third place with the Greens \u200bafter faring badly in two state elections this year.<\/p>\n

(Reporting by Markus \u200bWacket and Matthias WilliamsEditing by Gareth Jones)<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.<\/p>\n

Photos You Should See \u2013 April 2026<\/p>\n

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