This is CBS Eye on the World. Here's John Batchelor.

To London, to my good colleague Joseph Sternberg, member of the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, he's in London writing political economics, observing the continent of Europe, especially Germany,

and then the melodrama that is the English parliament. However, we begin with Herr Merz. Friedrich

Merritts, long-time attorney in Germany, a very well-spoken, very well-prepared leader of CDU-CSU,

commanding the majority combined with the

Social Democrats in the Bundestag, making him Chancellor of all the Germans. However, Joseph's

column examines what he's doing right for the German economy and where the troubles will begin,

given that he's dealing with a society that is

accustomed to a social welfare net that dwarfs anything we have here in the United States,

at the same time the demands of Europe's up against Russian defenses to spend money on

defense matters, reviving the military, and infrastructure. All that for one man.

Joseph, a very good evening to you. Let's begin with his strengths. Herr Merritt sounds a great deal

like a reformer in the United States to very, very carefully direct money so that it encourages private investment as well as public

investment. Is that appreciated in the Bundestag? Good evening to you. Hey, John. I mean, the short

answer is always sort of if the question is, does anyone appreciate a reformer? So, I mean,

the back story here is that Germany's economy has been in a form of malaise

for a while, has barely grown at all since 2019.

They never really recovered fully from the pandemic and got back on an economic growth

trend.

They weren't in great shape before the pandemic, you know, because they'd been coasting

for many years. They've been rocked by the energy price crisis that followed the Russian invasion

of Ukraine in 2022. They have enormous problems with their energy market and energy prices because of their net zero climate policies.

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