German Chancellor says welfare state no longer financially viable – media

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said a fundamental reassessment of the welfare system is needed because the current welfare state model is no longer financially sustainable, The Telegraph reports.

“The welfare state as we have it today can no longer be financed with what we can economically afford,” Merz said at the party conference at the federal state level on Saturday.

According to the publication, spending on social welfare has exploded and exceeded an all-time high €47 billion in 2024, what is more, it is set to increase further this year as Germany’s population ages and unemployment rises. At the same time, Germany's public debt amounts to 62.5% of GDP - one of the lowest figures in the eurozone.

The German chancellor added that he was not satisfied with what his government had achieved during its time so far, saying: “Let’s show together that changes and reforms are possible.”

“Mr Merz’s views on the welfare state are likely to provoke discontent among his Social Democratic Party (SDP) coalition partners, whom he relies on for a thin majority in the Bundestag,” the message reads.

He called on both the SDP and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to commit to making tough decisions and to forming a joint “anti-migration and business-friendly” coalition path. Both parties have called for Germany to increase its ability to detain migrants pending deportation and to expand a list of safe countries that migrants could be returned to.