Overview

• Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the current welfare state is no longer financeable and has launched a “Herbst der Reformen.”
• Kremlin-linked investor Kirill Dmitrijew mocked Germany on X, calling it a “case study” in recession caused by “dumb decisions and warmongering.”
• Dmitrijew also targeted Merz’s WTO remarks, warning him not to upset “Daddy” Donald Trump and musing about a renewed partnership with Russia.
• BILD reports that a Wall Street Journal opinion piece praises Merz for confronting the affordability dilemma of modern welfare systems.
• AfD co-leader Alice Weidel dismissed Merz’s social and tax plans as a “leere Durchhalteparole,” highlighting the polarized domestic response.