
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz narrowly averted a government crisis after securing an absolute majority for a pensions bill in parliament on Friday, despite an earlier revolt within his own conservatives that had highlighted his weak authority.
The bill, which raises pension spending by around 185 billion euros over the next 15 years, passed with 318 votes in the 630-seat Bundestag, without requiring a last-minute offer of help from the left-wing






