Care reform dispute: A dangerous pattern for Friedrich Merz

The dispute over nursing reform reveals a pattern that is becoming dangerous for Friedrich Merz. Above all, the dispute confirms a serious prejudice.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) in the Federal Cabinet: There can be no talk of a liberation with the compromise on care reform.

If a single week had to serve as a seismograph for the coalition, this would be a truly bad one. Of all things, the two most serious prejudices about the federal government proved true once again: those at the top have taken off. And: They simply can't do it. Namely, govern quietly, solve problems, implement reforms.

The posse surrounding Philipp Amthor and his beach chair in the Chancellery as well as Jens Spahn, who was on vacation, even though he was actually supposed to take part in a committee meeting in the Bundestag, provided illustrative material for the first prejudice.

The second prejudice is more serious. Although: With great effort, the Union and SPD managed to get a reform over the first hurdle. On Wednesday, the cabinet launched the nursing care reform. However, there can be no talk of a liberation.

Although the draft had been available for months, the Union and the SPD shortly fell apart, arguing and renegotiating in the last few meters. It wasn't about small details, but about fundamental questions: Who will bear the growing costs of care, and how fairly are the cuts distributed?