When Friedrich Merz became Germany¡¯s chancellor this year, he promised to revive a moribund economy, rebuild the nation¡¯s neglected infrastructure and make the country relevant on the global stage again.
His failure to deliver on many of these core issues has not only helped energize far-right parties like the Alternative for Germany, it¡¯s also stoked speculation that Merz¡¯s government may suffer the same fate as that of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, and collapse before it completes its term.
Only 16% of Germans want to see Merz, who has just turned 70, as a candidate in the next federal election, according to a recent poll by RTL/n-tv, and his two-party coalition is paralyzed by internal conflicts and rivalries. German stocks, which surged as he took office, have been going sideways since the summer.
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