Germany's conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz has heavily criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz's reaction to the results of the European Parliament election, which were seen as a major blow for Scholz's three-party coalition.
Speaking in the German parliament on Wednesday, Merz said that the chancellor is "still unable and unwilling to
self-criticize or correct" his own policies.
"You are responsible for the fact that the problems in our country are not being solved," said Merz, who leads the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and appears likely to be Scholz's main challenger in the next general elections in the autumn of 2025.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) placed second in the European Parliament election among German voters, while the parties in Scholz's coalition all suffered losses.
Merz criticized the chancellor for trying to blame current crises for the rise of left-wing and right-wing radicalism, instead of his own political decisions.
According to Merz, no other country in Europe was causing as much uncertainty as Germany, which should actually be a European anchor of stability.
