Merz: Five moments of his chancellorship - and what they reveal:

EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I'M WATCHING!— Donald Trump demands in a post on Truth Social that oil prices stay low.

A real, lasting peace requires a willingness to make peace from all sides.

— Friedrich Merz in his government statement regarding the Ukraine conflict.

We are not at war with Iran, we are at war with Iran’s nuclear program… We destroyed that uranium, and we did it without endangering the American pilots.— Vice President JD Vance during an interview with NBC News.

I hope we are all in agreement that it is worth defending this democracy, this freedom.

— Chancellor Friedrich Merz during his speech at the Day of Industry.

It would be inappropriate for us to comment on the policy of tariffs. We don’t have a view. It’s not our job and we just wouldn’t do that.— Jerome Powell during his testimony before Congress regarding monetary policy.

We will probably (...) not manage with the current volunteer system alone, but will need additional elements of compulsory military service.

— Friedrich Merz, Chancellor, at the Industry Day in Berlin.

This sum underscores the importance of a solid, reliable, and generationally equitable financing of the pension insurance.

— Jens Dirk Wohlfeil, Co-CEO of the German Pension Insurance, discusses the financial situation of pension insurance in the context of the 'pension at 63'.

The outlook for consumer spending is cloudy.

— Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank, comments on the challenges facing consumer behavior.

Running a summit in these circumstances is 'like preparing the red carpet for Godzilla,' one Canadian official told the Financial Times.— A Canadian official made this remark to the Financial Times.

This can initially be no good news, as it shows and proves that the world's peace order is currently under pressure everywhere.— Boris Pistorius comments on the US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities during the ZDF program Caren Miosga.

It is a dark day for the truth.

— Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, commented on the mass layoffs at Voice of America.

The escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran is putting health facilities and access to health care at risk. The reports on the attacks on health so far are appalling.

— World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned the attacks on health facilities in the conflict between Iran and Israel.

Wherever the foot of a Russian soldier stands, that place belongs to us.

— Wladimir Putin stated this during his speech at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.

We would not take the decision to go negative lightly. We are well aware negative interest rates are a challenge for many actors in the economy, but also for savers, for pension funds, and so on.

— SNB Chairman Martin Schlegel on the decision to cut rates.

As Finance Minister, I sometimes make decisions that are relevant to the capital market or have information about individual listed companies.

— Christian Lindner, former Finance Minister, spoke about the conflicts of interest that can arise from political decisions.

Last night was a tremendous success with a fantastic audience.

— Donald Trump, reflecting on the military parade during remarks to reporters.

43 percent of respondents express satisfaction with his work – this is three points more than in the previous week, five more than at the end of May.— This statement comes from a survey measuring public satisfaction with Chancellor Friedrich Merz's performance.

Tehran must immediately cease the bombardment of civilian targets in Israel.

— Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated this on Sunday in Berlin before his departure to the G7 summit in Canada.

More than a third of voters are satisfied with Friedrich Merz as Chancellor.

— This is shown by a survey conducted by the polling institute Insa for Bild am Sonntag.

We are doing everything to be able to defend ourselves.

— Boris Pistorius, Federal Minister of Defense, discusses Germany's readiness for defense in the context of the upcoming NATO summit.

The principle 'Who orders, pays' must be applied consistently.— André Berghegger, Managing Director of the German Association of Cities and Municipalities, in the Rheinische Post.

Mister Trump, the player, you may start this war, but we will end it.

— A spokesperson for the Iranian Army Central Command, responding to the US attacks.