What seemed like a promising change turned into a monumental disappointment. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who as opposition leader submitted over 550 questions criticizing the state funding of ideologically driven NGOs, has completely capitulated to his coalition allies now that he holds the reins of the German government.
His cabinet’s responses to a recent parliamentary inquiry show that there will be no reform whatsoever: no cuts, no reviews, no additional oversight over the public funds flowing to associations that act politically under the guise of “civil society organisations.”
This time, the questions came from the AfD parliamentary group, through MP Peter Felser. Just 15 questions were enough to expose the total continuity between Merz’s government and the previous Socialist-Green coalition. The answers are, quite literally, the same. Instead of presenting a position of its own, Merz’s cabinet merely refers back to the same responses Scholz’s government gave to the very same questions raised indignantly by the CDU—then led by Merz himself.
Policy change? None
For years, Merz railed against the opaque financing of NGOs that, with taxpayer money, organized protests, campaigns, and attacks against the opposition—particularly AfD. From the opposition bench, he demanded legal reforms to ensure the political neutrality of the organizations receiving state funds. But now that he holds power, his government replies with evasions, references to outdated documents, and the repeated claim that “there is no need for reform.”
So, where is his promise to end the partisan abuse of public money?
The answers to the AfD query were signed by Michael Schrodi (SPD), the State Secretary in the Finance Ministry, demonstrating that even under nominal CDU leadership, the Social Democrats are still drawing the policy line. It remains unclear whether Merz has decided to continue the previous policy out of electoral calculation, convenience, or because he ultimately shares the ideological vision of his former opponents. But what is certain is that he has lied—to his voters and to all of Germany. His speeches promising to cut off funding to ideological NGOs have turned out to be nothing but empty rhetoric.
Peter Felser of AfD summed it up poignantly: “The Merz administration is now defending the same policy it criticized just a few months ago. This is political betrayal in its purest form.”
Far from representing an alternative, the new government seems determined to continue as if nothing had changed. The clientelist structures remain in place, the system-friendly NGOs keep getting paid, and once again, the citizens foot the bill.
