The German chancellor is under pressure to soften plans to scrap early retirement as his SPD coalition partners demand a change of course
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s humiliating run of regional election defeats has reignited a bitter fight over his unpopular pension reform, with his Social Democratic coalition partners pushing back against plans that could make Germans work longer, national media have reported.
Merz’s Christian Democrats suffered a historic drubbing this month, culminating in what the chancellor himself called a “disaster” in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The CDU failed to clear the 5% threshold for the state parliament, while the right-wing, anti-immigration and Euroskeptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) came first. The AfD also topped the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, while in Berlin the CDU was pushed into second place behind the left-wing Die Linke. The SPD also suffered significant losses.
The defeats have complicated Merz’s already contentious reform drive. At the center of the fight is the so-called “pension at 63,” which allows people with 45 qualifying years to retire early without deductions. A government commission recommended scrapping the scheme, citing Germany’s aging population straining pension finances and the workforce. Merz, who has repeatedly urged Germans to work more, backs the reform.
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