German parliament approves pension package after a rebellion in Merz’s party

BERLIN (AP) – Germany’s parliament on Friday approved a pension reform package that had prompted a rebellion in the ranks of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party, averting a crisis for the government after a bumpy first seven months in office.

Lawmakers in the lower house voted 318-224 in favor of the package, including a measure that would hold the level of state pensions at 48% of average wages until 2031. There were 53 abstentions.

A group of 18 young lawmakers in Merz’s center-right Union bloc – a larger number than his coalition’s parliamentary majority – had balked for weeks at a provision that said after 2031, the pension level would be slightly higher than it would be under current law. They argued that that would cost up to 15 billion euros ($17.5 billion) per year, and that this would come at the expense of young people.

Merz’s junior coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats, were adamant that the package be approved unchanged. Merz backed that.

The measure to maintain the value of pensions was part of a package which also contains changes sought by Merz’s conservative bloc, including a tax break that would make it easier for retirees to continue working.

In an effort to assuage dissenters, coalition leaders stressed that a commission will produce proposals for a further-reaching reform of the pension system by mid-2026 as Germany, like many other countries, addresses the challenge of an aging population.

“This is not the end of our pension policy, but only the beginning,” Merz said after the vote. He said the discussion had shown “how big the challenges are that our country faces.”

Keen to show that he is in command of the government’s parliamentary majority, Merz pushed for approval by an absolute majority of the house’s 630 lawmakers, which wasn’t strictly necessary. Friday’s result saved him from the potential embarrassment of getting the measures passed thanks only to abstentions by the opposition Left Party. In the end, seven of his bloc’s lawmakers voted against, two abstained and one didn’t vote.

Merz set out to avoid the infighting that plagued predecessor Olaf Scholz’s government and resulted in its collapse last year. However, he needed an unprecedented two rounds of voting in parliament to get elected as chancellor in May. There was also a high-profile altercation in his own ranks in July over a center-left nominee for Germany’s highest court, who ultimately withdrew her candidacy.

He has acknowledged that his coalition has engaged in “too many public discussions” since it took office, with priorities that included revitalizing Germany’s stagnant economy and reducing irregular migration. Germans appear unimpressed with him and his government, while support for the far-right Alternative for Germany has grown since the country’s election in February