News Summary

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May promising to deliver on a pledge that his predecessors failed to keep.
• But there is a growing sense among economists, investors and business groups that the promised reforms are slower and less far-reaching than initially expected.
• The reform urgency was underlined in August as German unemployment hit three million for the first time in a decade.
• A Forsa poll showed last week that 61% of Germans expect economic conditions in Germany to deteriorate in the coming years, up from 50% in May.