Overview
- At the Junge Union congress in Rust, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he will support the cabinet’s pension package in the Bundestag and dismissed the youth wing’s 120‑billion‑euro cost claim.
- The Junge Gruppe’s 18 CDU/CSU MPs reaffirmed plans to vote no, a bloc large enough to wipe out the coalition’s narrow 12‑seat majority.
- SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil declared the bill closed to changes, stating it will not be altered before the planned early‑December Bundestag vote.
- Union floor leader Jens Spahn offered further talks in the coming days and called the draft a compromise, while Merz pointed to a forthcoming commission to redefine the system after 2031.
- The package includes an Aktivrente and a renewed increase in the Mütterrente, and Baden‑Württemberg CDU leader Manuel Hagel publicly backed the JU’s demand for tougher negotiations with the SPD.