'Unacceptable:' Boos for Germany's Merz at top trade union congress

Boos rang out as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz campaigned for far-reaching social reforms at a major trade union congress in Berlin on Tuesday, prompting anger from conservatives.

Merz's address to the national conference of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) called on labour representatives to view his government's reform agenda as an opportunity rather than a threat. But his appeal met with little support among the 400 delegates gathered in the German capital.

The chancellor argued that prosperity cannot be secured without economic growth, and that systemic changes are needed to boost Europe's largest economy.

"We have simply failed to modernize our country," said Merz, the leader of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU). "Germany must therefore pull itself together."

While Merz's coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) has struggled in recent weeks to agree on concrete cost-cutting reforms, the Cabinet did pass a bill last month aiming to save billions in the health care system.

The chancellor's mention of the austerity measures drew whistles and heckling at the trade union congress on Tuesday.

Looking ahead, Merz described the pension reform due to be passed this summer as the "toughest nut to crack."

“None of this is malice on my part or on the part of the federal government,” he insisted. “It is demography and mathematics,” Merz said, drawing further boos from the crowd.

Merz appealed to the trade unionists to play their part in the reforms. “We need this joint search for ways to move our country forward,” he said. “Finding the best way forward together – that is something we must succeed in doing again, especially today.”

Booing criticized

DGB leader Yasmin Fahimi pointed out to Merz that many workers perceive the reforms as ultimately leading to "one-sided" cuts and "an erosion of protective rights."

Many in the trade unions feel that the social partnership fundamental to economic relations in Germany "no longer really works and that we are being driven into more and more conflicts," said Fahimi.

Nevertheless, the boos attracted criticism in conservative circles on Tuesday, with Alexander Hoffmann from the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU) calling the behaviour "unacceptable."

"Structural problems are not solved through a lack of respect and blockades, but only through reforms in which everyone makes a contribution," he said in parliament. 

The chairman of the CDU workers' association, Dennis Radtke, also condemned the incident. "You don’t boo a chancellor," Radtke told dpa.

SPD leader gets warm welcome

In a clear contrast to Merz, Labour Minister Bärbel Bas, the co-leader of the SPD, received a warm welcome from union delegates at the conference in Berlin. 

She warned that differences between the CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD have "rarely been so noticeable as today."

"Reform does not simply mean cuts; instead I want to make our social security to be not smaller, but cleverer," she added.

Bas promised to fight against restrictions on workers' rights. "You can count on that," she said, receiving loud support from the audience.

The incident promises to further ratchet up tensions between the coalition partners ahead of an important meeting of the main coalition committee late on Tuesday, with social security reforms and the 2027 budget on the agenda.