Merz lashes out at Trump and Brussels as Germany’s economy falters – POLITICO

BERLIN — Germany’s economy is flatlining, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz is blaming everyone but himself.

The chancellor was elected on a promise to jolt Germany’s enervated economy back to life, but one year on, he and his conservative-led government have failed to do so. As Merz’s dismay grows and his popularity plummets, he is increasingly lashing out at factors beyond his immediate control — from the war in Iran to what his government casts as heavy-handed regulation and waste in Brussels.

The chancellor this week chose an unlikely place to vent his frustration: on the stage of a high school auditorium in his home region in rural western Germany.