Battered by polls, tariffs and allies, Germany’s Merz seeks to regain agenda

Germany’s would-be Chancellor Friedrich Merz sought to recapture the political agenda on Monday, promising renewed focus on competitiveness after a bruising weekend that saw the far-right draw level in a poll with his conservatives for the first time.

His comment, after carping from allies at a seeming willingness to concede too much to his intended Social Democrat partners, came in response to alarm at the tariff-induced chaos engulfing financial markets.