Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s statements regarding the pension system have met with considerable resistance from leading politicians in East Germany, including some from his own political faction. Manuela Schwesig, the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and an SPD member, told “Stern” that she does not understand the Chancellor’s approach, stating that no proposals have been presented by the pension commission yet, and that Merz is only spreading fear. Schwesig also criticized the timing of the announcements at the Federal Association of Banks, noting that “no one whose lives depend on the statutory pension is guaranteed to be in the leadership offices of those institutions”. She asserted that for many people in the East, the pension covers only basic necessities, and insisted that any pension reform must not lead to pension cuts.
Shwesig issued a general warning to Friedrich Merz: “It must stop the narrative that the Chancellor and his government are telling people that they do not work enough or that they must bear greater burdens”. Instead, she called for a concept for a social state reform that is both socially balanced and sensible.
Resistance is also coming from within the CDU’s own ranks. Sepp Müller, the deputy chairman of the CDU parliamentary group responsible for East Germany, told “Stern” that for many retirees in the East, the statutory pension is nearly their sole source of income, as private and occupational savings play a much smaller role. He cautioned that whoever intends to reorganize the future of the pension must acknowledge this fact in the findings of the pension commission.
Daniel Peters, the party and state chairman of the CDU in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, echoed this concern, emphasizing that any pension reform must ensure that the unique working biographies of the East are treated fairly. He stressed that the goal must be a stable pension that effectively prevents poverty in old age. Peters added that he was eagerly awaiting the working groups’ recommendations, which he stated should be evaluated soberly, without populism or political slogans, because the issue is too important to be debated endlessly.
Sahra Wagenknecht, a founder of the BSW, labeled the Chancellor’s comments as an “attack on East German pensioners”. She accused Merz of displaying the “pension policy arrogance of a West German multimillionaire in the Chancellery”. Wagenknecht suggested that the provincial prime ministers of the East should now “take to the barricades”.
This sentiment follows Merz’s previous remarks at a German banking association event, where he stated that the statutory pension insurance will at best remain only a basic safeguard for old age and will no longer be sufficient to secure a standard of living.
