In his first summer interview as Chancellor, Friedrich Merz addresses, among other things, the announced US tariffs, the failed judicial election, and the citizen's income. Merz wants significant savings – including through changes to an item that is important for those affected.

In light of US threats of 30 percent import tariffs on EU goods, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has warned that a continued EU-US tariff dispute would severely damage the German economy."If that were to happen, we would have to put large parts of our economic policy efforts on the back burner," Merz said in an ARD summer interview in Berlin on Sunday."Because that would overshadow everything and would hit the German export industry hard." He is therefore working hard to ensure that a solution is found.

"This requires two things: unity within the European Union and reasonable lines of communication with the American president," Merz said. He spoke with US President Donald Trump on Friday and with French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend.

Merz said he agreed with Macron that without an agreement, European countermeasures would be necessary."But not before August 1," Merz added."The negotiations were already quite advanced," he said of the talks with the US government. He added that Trump had also sent similar letters with tariff threats in the US's tariff negotiations with other countries.

"At the end of the day, these were also negotiating positions. And then, most of the time—not always, but most of the time—there were reasonable solutions. And I am committed to these solutions for Europe," said the Chancellor.

Merz underestimated reservations about judge candidate

Chancellor Friedrich Merz also admitted to having underestimated the reservations within the CDU/CSU parliamentary group regarding lawyer Frauke Brosius-Gewersdorf during the election to the Federal Constitutional Court."Of course, we could have recognized earlier that there was great discontent," Merz said. However, there was also unrest within the SPD parliamentary group. Former SPD Health Minister Ulla Schmidt, for example, mobilized the churches.

But one cannot give MPs orders from above either. When it comes to such personnel issues, it is also a matter of conscience, Merz continued. The CDU/CSU will discuss this calmly with the SPD and then reach a decision."We don't have to decide this today or tomorrow," the Chancellor said.

Brosius-Gersdorf is criticized in parts of the CDU/CSU primarily for her liberal stance on abortion regulations. In her view, there are good reasons why the full guarantee of human dignity only applies from birth onward. The Catholic Church unanimously rejects a graduated concept of the protection of life based on this.

On Friday, the Bundestag failed to elect three new constitutional judges for Karlsruhe. The election is now scheduled to take place after the summer recess. The CDU/CSU is demanding that its coalition partner nominate another candidate. However, the SPD is sticking with its candidate.

Friedrich Merz stands behind Jens Spahn

Regarding the SPD's suggestion that the controversial SPD candidate Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf could face the Union's questions, Merz said:"I will discuss this calmly with the SPD." Merz said: "There is no time pressure right now." The Chancellor assured: "We will try to get good majorities for the next round."

Next time, he said, things will be done better."It wasn't nice on Friday, but this isn't a crisis of democracy, or a crisis of the government." Merz said: "The whole thing is undramatic." It isn't a process that "will overturn us." The Chancellor expressed regret that two uncontroversial candidates for the Federal Constitutional Court hadn't been elected.

"Of course, we could have recognized earlier that there was great discontent," Merz admitted."But that's really no big deal."

Critics accuse CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn of canceling the planned judicial election only after an Austrian plagiarism examiner had published parallels between Brosius-Gersdorf's doctoral thesis and her husband's habilitation thesis the day before. He is also accused of not having the parliamentary group under control.

Merz, however, backs Spahn (both CDU). When asked whether Spahn was still the right man for the job, Merz also said in the ARD summer interview:"Definitely yes." Resistance in the CDU/CSU parliamentary group was "unforeseeable in this form." There were also reservations about this choice within the SPD.

Despite everything, SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch later clarified in an outraged personal statement:"We are sticking with our candidates. I expect the majority to be formed."

Citizens' income is to be reformed

Merz also advocated for significant cuts for recipients of citizen's allowance. A cap on rent and a review of the permitted apartment size are conceivable, Merz said.

"In big cities today, they sometimes receive up to 20 euros per square meter for rent from the social welfare office or the Federal Employment Agency," Merz said,"and if you extrapolate that, that's already 2,000 euros a month for 100 square meters. A normal working family can't afford that." The government therefore wants to reduce the tensions that arise.

Merz said:"Flat-rate payments are possible, lower rates are possible – but all of this is under review by the coalition, and we are discussing it." The job center covers the costs of accommodation and heating for recipients of citizen's allowance, although this amount must already be"appropriate."

"It should be called basic security and no longer remain a citizen's income—and there's more to be saved than just one or two billion," Merz said in response to a question on this topic. Federal Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) plans to present a draft for a citizen's income reform after the summer recess. The reform, anchored in the coalition agreement, is scheduled to come into force in 2026, Merz emphasized."It has to have an impact." Adjustments would then have to be made repeatedly, for example, regarding the rules governing which job offers are considered reasonable.

In the event of “sudden unemployment,” he could even imagine raising the rates so that people would have security when they looked for a job again, the Chancellor said.

Merz against organized citizen's income tricks

According to Merz, the reform is intended to combat undeclared work and the organized top-up of marginal employment or part-time wages with citizen's allowance."In some cases, this is even organized correctly, with people only taking marginal employment, becoming top-up recipients, and doing undeclared work – we know that undeclared work has increased in recent years," Merz said."The system is flawed, and we must correct that."

Merz expects heated discussions about Germany's social security systems this fall. Preparatory work for large-scale reforms is already underway, partly in specially appointed commissions."We will then have intensive discussions in the fall about which direction we should take." He shares widespread concerns about the financial viability of the state. The level of social security benefits will also be discussed.