Overview

• The chancellor said the welfare benefit will be legislated as a Grundsicherungsgesetz and insisted the term Bürgergeld will disappear, adding that CDU/CSU and SPD are very close to a deal with only a few points open.
• He endorsed creating a general Pflichtjahr for societal service and hinted a purely voluntary military model may not suffice, while dismissing an immediate return to full conscription.
• He attributed most recent airport drone overflights to Russia, called the incidents a serious security threat, and urged stronger police counter‑drone capabilities alongside a review of legal responsibilities.
• He cautioned that households will have to spend more of their income on pensions, health and care, set pension reform proposals for next autumn, and emphasized increasing lifetime work participation over raising the statutory retirement age.
• Pressed over slow progress and weak polling, he adopted an emotional tone recalling his synagogue speech about children’s suffering and acknowledged ongoing cost debates in care, saying a cut to Pflegegrad 1 has not been decided.