Ruptly
"German Chancellor Friedrich Merz admitted the economy was in the doldrums and the country had to 'pull itself together' during a speech to trade unionists in Berlin on Tuesday. "We have created problems for ourselves over too long a time that we now must solve. We have simply failed to modernise our country," he told the audience. "Germany must therefore pull itself together." "You know it, we all know it, our economic development has been stagnating for years, for at least seven years, while other countries around us are growing, in some cases quite significantly," Merz went on. He said that it would be impossible to continue as the country had for the past 20 years - and big changes were needed with 100,000 jobs now lost every year. He also said that promises made were 'too optimistic' and that "we will no longer be able to do everything at the same time." "I also expect the responsible representatives of the German economy, such as the workforce, to be open to change," he said. Merz was booed and jeered many times during the speech for his defence of cuts and reforms to pensions and healthcare, which he claimed were needed to get a grip on ballooning costs, and boost the economy. This is shown in an earlier package, also available on this site. He was speaking at the Congress of the German Trade Union Confederation. "
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