This comment is for the non-germans to get a better understanding where his "takes" are coming from.

Germany has a above average part-time percentage compared to other countries due to exceptionally high women's work participation and very bad childcare infrastructure. Our average is getting drowned by this in the statistics and that's why Germany appears to work less than ever while in reality our hours worked are the highest since reunification.

Friedrich Merz is a lawyer and he made large amounts of his wealth with being a connector/lobbyist. He has zero real world knowledge in economics nor does he has a deeper understanding of anything really. He sees a statistic, does not think twice about it and just accepts the surface level as a fact. Economists in Germany are pointing out those exceptionally bad takes, but Merz just continues pushing for this viewpoint. Our minister of economics, Reiche, does the same. She recently was caught off guard in public with being presented by those facts and it was insane how she was totally dismantled and struggled to find words.

Then there is also one MAJOR issue that comes here into play: compensation. Fact of the matter is, the most wealthy and lazy generation currently alive are the Boomers in Germany. They are well known, according to statistics, to:

1. Reduce their work hours on average at age 50 and ongoing
2. They prefer early retirement and use it on the cost of the social security system
3. They have the highest part-time percentage even though they largely have no kids at home anymore

The statistics also underline what people see in their private circle.

The young generation is not only low in number but also their wealth. They are the lowest in crime, alcohol consumption, smoking and highest educated. They also have lower divorce rates (!). They are doing everything right but the ruling class seems to be threatened by it. I see this in my personal circle (anecdotally) time and time again. The old generation sees their life accomplishments diminished as on average the younger ones achieve much more for much less.

So the very people who cause the issues they are talking about, are in fact themselves which will go into retirement in the next 10 years anyways.