German President Steinmeier and Chancellor's Summer Policies Under Fire

In his final summer interview as president, Frank‑Walter Steinmeier defended the “system of democracy” against the AfD and urged support for the “parties of the centre”. He stressed that structural reforms aim to stabilise performance systems rather than put more money in citizens’ pockets, saying, “Strukturreformen haben nicht in erster Linie zum Ziel, den Menschen mehr Geld in die Tasche zu geben, sondern zunächst mal das Ziel, Leistungssysteme zu stabilisieren.”

Commentary also criticised the traditional summer press conference of the chancellor, recalling Angela Merkel’s 2015 slogan “Wir schaffen das” and its repetition by Friedrich Merz. The pieces described the event as a staged “summer break” where politicians and journalists exchange pleasantries while the coalition claims large‑scale reforms despite ongoing economic concerns.