Commentary: Heat protection - Merz passes responsibility on to citizens
The Chancellor is missing the opportunity to make protection from the heat a government task - and instead declares it a private matter. That is not climate policy.
In 2026, 14,000 people have died in Germany due to the heat. Despite this, Friedrich Merz, did not take immediate action, such as calling a special session, when a forest fire broke out in Hürtgenwald, Nordrhein-Westfalen in mid-August. Merz visited the site after the fire was extinguished, and his comments that "we have to expect to have such events more frequently.
That's climate change" drew criticism for lacking concrete solutions. At a recent government retreat, Merz promised to put the issue on the agenda, but the outcome was deemed insufficient, with Merz focusing on reforms and growth instead. Merz stated that the government wants to "draw conclusions" from the 2026 heat summer, but remained vague.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
