German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed on Wednesday to press ahead with reforms and rejected any alternative to his coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats.
"Germany has the strength for a new beginning and I am personally determined with all my strength to make that possible with my government," Merz said at an event of his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in his home town of Arnsberg.
German media recently reported that some members of CDU leadership bodies had discussed whether another conservative politician should replace Merz as chancellor. Merz, who also leads the CDU, did not directly address the reports.
The chancellor said public debate in Germany often created the impression that the country was "completely blocked," incapable of changing through its own efforts and facing inevitable decline.
He said he would resist that perception, even though he wished his conservative-led coalition government with the Social Democrats (SPD) had achieved more during its first year in office.
Still, he said there was no realistic alternative to the alliance in parliament. "I am not looking for any alternatives whatsoever," Merz said.
Speaking at an event marking the 80th anniversary of the Neheim-Hüsten Programme - an early founding document of the CDU drafted in 1946 under former chancellor Konrad Adenauer - Merz referred to Germany's post-war reconstruction as he urged the country to show greater confidence about the future.
Germany had lain in ruins at the time, with widespread hunger and hardship, he said, yet political leaders had still found "the courage to shape a new future."
"Why do we no longer trust ourselves today to make good plans for the future?" Merz asked the audience, urging Germans to focus again on what they were capable of achieving.
