Astrid Hamker, the President of the CDU Business Council, stated to Focus magazine that she expects significantly greater leadership from Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Hamker stressed that Merz must utilize his policy-setting authority. She urged him not to allow the coalition’s internal conflicts to paralyze the country, adding that she trusts he can quickly change this negative image, especially now that promised reforms are finally coming through. One year after the formation of the black-red coalition, Hamker assessed the current government’s performance as “deficient”. While the government had promised numerous reforms, she noted that too little had actually been implemented so far.
Hamker heavily criticized the Chancellor’s domestic political work, rating his management of the coalition as at best “satisfactory”. She questioned why Merz was not pushing harder against the SPD, despite the fact that they hold the minority position in the coalition. In contrast, Hamker rated Friedrich Merz’s foreign policy as “very good” asserting that Germany has successfully returned to the global stage-a credit she gave directly to the Chancellor.