This is John Batchelor, conversation with my colleague Judy Dempsey of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Berlin

about the Bundestag meeting in which Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, that's Angela Marcos Party.

He's now the leader, CDU, laid out very carefully what needs to be done. He's campaigning to be

chancellor of all the Germans. The election is in February. Judy's impressed and amazed. He talks

bluntly. And the list, the shopping list for Friedrich Merritt is rough on the German assumptions. Here's Judy Dempsey to introduce

the Germans facing up to their challenges. Good for them. More of this tonight. And I watched

all these debates yesterday in the German parliament. I was struck by how open he was. He didn't pull his punches. He spent out

everything that had to be done. And I think what he is doing ahead of the campaign is warning the

public that the old days are over. The old days of fudging are over. The old days of subsidies are

over. The old days of bailing out industries which cannot be competitive are over. It was extraordinary

how he spelt this out, actually. It was quite a cold shower and a necessary one. And now that he

said this, I assume that he would continue this into his campaign.