Eye to the chancellor: interviewing Friedrich Merz

This podcast discusses Friedrich Merz, the frontrunner to become Germany's next chancellor, and the challenges facing Germany. The discussion includes an interview with Merz, where he expresses a bleak assessment of the German economy, highlighting its loss of competitiveness due to shifts in relations with China and Russia, and the need for significant reforms. His cautious stance on increasing defense spending and support for Ukraine in the face of potential American withdrawal is also analyzed. Panelists express concern over Merz's apparent reliance on votes from the far-right AFD party, despite his public denouncement of them. The podcast concludes by questioning whether Merz's proposed solutions are sufficiently radical to address Germany's complex problems.