(MENAFN) Germans must accept unpopular changes to overcome the “difficult time” their nation is enduring, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has cautioned.

He delivered these comments on Friday at a public gathering in Saarbruecken, commemorating 35 years since the reunification of Germany.

The occasion, marking East Germany’s integration into the West, was not entirely celebratory, as the chancellor concentrated on the difficulties the country is currently grappling with.

“Our nation is in the midst of an important, perhaps decisive, phase in its modern history,” he stated. “Many things must change if they are to remain as good as they are, or even to improve.”

Merz urged citizens to “regroup and look forward with confidence and energy” and to discover “new unity in our country.”

He listed enhancing the nation’s defense capabilities as a top concern—an initiative he has consistently supported, citing the perceived threat from Russia.

“We must learn to defend ourselves again,” Merz emphasized, asserting that “new alliances of autocracies are forming against us” and that Germany’s “liberal way of life” is under assault “from both outside and within.”

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