默茨：宁失民望也要推进福利改革 称德国养老金改革已迟到30年
2026年10月13日周二，德国总理默茨在雇主协会会议上表示，他准备牺牲自己在民调中的人气，也要推进拖延已久的福利体系改革，使年轻一代受益。据路透社10月13日报道，默茨说：「我无意成为全民宠儿。我的目标是让这个国家走上正确的轨道，让我们能再次为年轻一代提供体面的前景。」
默茨称，德国改革现收现付制养老金体系的计划已经迟到了至少30年，并表示为应对人口结构变化，工人与雇主缴纳的养老金缴费率须暂时上调。这番表态把福利改革置于其政府议程的中心，也意味着执政联盟必须在养老金、劳动力市场等敏感议题上尽快拿出方案。
他发表讲话的前一天，社民党联合主席、劳工部长巴斯刚刚辞职，给本已因9月州选举惨败而动荡的执政联盟增添了不确定性。劳工部正是福利改革的主管部门，新任部长施魏策尔接手后将直接面对养老金改革的谈判。基民盟内部此前曾批评巴斯拖延养老金改革，改革节奏因此成为联盟内部摩擦的焦点之一。
在民调低迷、极右翼选择党持续领先全国调查的背景下，默茨的「不讨好」宣言既是向雇主界的承诺，也是向本党与公众的姿态表述。改革能否在联邦议院与各州占席的联邦参议院顺利通过，将检验这个执政不到18个月的联盟的行动力；2029年联邦大选的倒计时已经开始。
Merz: I Will Prioritise Welfare Reform Over Popularity, Says Pension Overhaul Is 30 Years Late
On Tuesday, October 13, 2026, Chancellor Friedrich Merz told an employers' association conference that he was ready to sacrifice his popularity in opinion polls to push through long-overdue welfare reforms benefiting younger people. Reuters reported his words: 'I have no intention of becoming the nation's darling. My intention is to set this country on the right course so that, above all, we can once again offer the younger generation decent prospects.'
Merz said Germany was at least 30 years late in overhauling its pay-as-you-go retirement system, and that pension contributions paid by workers and employers would have to rise temporarily to accommodate demographic change. The remarks placed welfare reform at the centre of his government's agenda, and mean the coalition must soon produce concrete plans on pensions and the labour market.
He spoke a day after SPD co-leader and Labour Minister Baerbel Bas resigned, adding uncertainty to a coalition already shaken by bruising state-election defeats in September. The labour ministry owns the welfare-reform file, and incoming minister Alexander Schweitzer will face pension negotiations immediately; CDU figures had previously criticised Bas over delays to the pension overhaul, making the pace of reform a flashpoint inside the alliance.
With his government languishing in polls and the far-right AfD leading national surveys, Merz's declaration was both a pledge to employers and a signal to his own party and the public. Whether the reforms can pass the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, where state governments hold seats, will test the governing capacity of a coalition in office for less than 18 months, with the countdown to the 2029 federal election already under way.
图片来源：图：德国总理默茨（左）到访欧盟委员会，与冯德莱恩握手。摄影：Dati Bendo／European Union 2025（欧盟委员会视听服务），CC BY 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
