'Maybe we are currently fighting too much,' Merz says of his coalition

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday admitted that his governing coalition, which continues to make headlines due to repeated infighting, could do better.

"Dispute is part of democracy," Merz said at the 104th German Catholic Day in the southern city of Würzburg.

"But the dispute needs to lead to results. And maybe we are currently fighting a bit too much and are not delivering enough results. That may be possible," he conceded.

Tolerance begins where one's own opinion ends, Merz said. He said the question was whether people were listening to each other and tried to find solutions together.

With the far-right Alternative for the Germany (AfD) appearing to be the main beneficiary of the squabbling within the coalition as the party continues its rise in opinion polls, Merz stressed the importance of finding solutions to the challenges facing Germany in the political centre.

Merz's government, comprising his conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD), have struggled to find a common line on a number of issues since taking office in May last year, including on social security and labour reforms, energy policy and, most recently, how best to shield consumers from skyrocketing costs due to the Iran war.

The infighting is observed by Germans with particular scrutiny, as the previous SPD-led coalition under chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed spectacularly following months of squabbling over how to boost the ailing economy.

Merz also defended the value of democracy.

“Things move faster under a dictatorship, but they usually go wrong. And that is why we must work together to reconcile ourselves with our democracy. We have created something truly magnificent here," he said.