Overview
- At the SZ Economic Summit in Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz rejected delaying the rentenpaket and dismissed talk of governing as a minority, arguing the bill must pass to keep the Aktivrente on track for 2026.
- Merz reiterated a political concession of a Begleittext outlining reforms after 2031 and a faster pension commission, though it carries no immediate legal change.
- Eighteen Junge Union MPs still threaten to vote no, endangering the coalition’s majority, and Unionsfraktionschef Jens Spahn is now working to secure the needed votes.
- CDU health politician and federal drug commissioner Hendrik Streeck clarified his call to limit aggressive therapies for very old, frail patients; the government distanced itself and patient advocates urged stronger palliative care options.
- Public-safety tensions rose as Berlin recorded multiple weekend shootings with suspects largely at large, and in Bochum a 12‑year‑old girl was critically injured by police gunfire after, according to officials, approaching officers with two knives.