Former German leader Angela Merkel has defended Chancellor Friedrich Merz's record in government, amid frustration in Berlin over the slow pace of reforms.
In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) published online on Friday, Merkel stressed that the government has taken fundamental decisions on defence spending and infrastructure since taking office in May 2025.
"This government took office just over a year ago," Merkel told the FAZ. "It has passed budgets, taken fundamental decisions on defence spending and infrastructure. It has introduced interesting elements in the pensions area too, such as the early-start pension. It is simply not true that nothing has happened."
Asked whether she trusted the government to push through the necessary reforms, including to the pension system, she said: "Yes. I will just give the example of health-care reform. In my observation, that discussion is going well."
Merkel warned, however, against raising expectations too high.
"Even during my time in office, the entire political debate became more hectic, driven above all by social media," she said. "In such a climate, it is a mistake to raise expectations that cannot be met. I made that mistake myself."
Recent polls have shown growing public dissatisfaction with the work of the coalition government led by Merkel and Merz's party, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and historically low approval ratings for the chancellor.
Merkel also showed a degree of self-criticism when reflecting on her own time in government, including on defence spending. While there had been increases, she conceded that "looking back" her government was "not fast enough."
She also acknowledged: "I was very dissatisfied with the pace of digitalization. We set ourselves far more ambitious goals, but pushing that through within our federal structures is extremely difficult."
Merz recently complained that no chancellor before him had had to endure such hostility on social media.
Merkel responded: "I always looked to Helmut Kohl for guidance. He used to say that nobody forced him to do this job. The job description for a chancellor includes wonderful experiences, but also things you simply have to endure."
The work required "an inner contentment, a certain steadfastness and a generous heart," she said.
