Chancellor Merz says he cannot 'order people to be in a good mood'

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has appealed for support for further reforms as his conservative-led coalition government with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) struggles in the polls.

"As chancellor, I can't simply order people to be in a good mood," Merz told broadcaster RTL on Thursday. "But I can say there are reasons to be confident and reasons to be optimistic."

He said early signs from the German economy were starting to move in the right direction again.

Merz acknowledged that governing in coalition required compromises and that progress had been slower than he had expected.

Asked about his low popularity ratings compared with his SPD predecessor Olaf Scholz, Merz pointed to the collapse of Scholz’s three-party coalition.

"Olaf Scholz had a government that no longer followed him, and that government failed," Merz said. 

He said he wanted his own government to prove it could do better.

"I'm trying to keep my government together so that, together, we can achieve the best for this country."