Friedrich Merz has a Friedrich Merz problem – POLITICO

BERLIN — The trouble with Friedrich Merz is that when things get difficult, he can make them even more difficult.

At a press conference this week, the German chancellor had barely begun addressing yet another disastrous set of election results when he stopped to rebuke a man moving in front of the cameras. “Haven’t you found a seat? Because you’re blocking the view for a lot of other people.”

The icy tone was fleeting, but telling. In the face of crushing political pressure, Merz is trying to convince Germans that he can revive the economy, reform the welfare state, and halt the flight of voters to the political extremes, such as the far-right Alternative for Germany party and the Left party, both of which clinched victories in state elections over the weekend.