BERLIN, October 21. /TASS/. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that his main concern was not the German economy, but Russia’s influence on the German society.

"My main concern is not our economy, or the EU, or the US, or China. My main concern is Rusia’s influence on our society," he said during the Berlin Global Dialogue 2026 economic forum.

Alice Weidel, the co-chair of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, said after this remark that the chancellor’s disregard for Germany’s real internal problems was a true danger to the country.