作者：Iain Rogers基民盟关键人物、北莱茵-威斯特法伦州州长亨德里克·伍斯特批评德国总理梅尔茨领导的政府推进经济改革步伐过慢，并表示立法拖延是该党本月在三个州议会选举中惨败的因素之一。
By Iain Rogers A key figure in Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union criticized the German chancellor’s government over the pace of economic reforms and said delays in enacting legislation were a factor in the party’s disastrous performance in three regional elections this month.
“民众希望政府有所作为，希望我们采取行动，”伍斯特周日在接受德国电台采访时表示。
“People want governments to govern, they want us to take action,” Hendrik Wuest, the premier of Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, told Deutschlandfunk radio Sunday.
“目前有几个项目需要收尾、完成并落地，依我看，这些项目搁置的时间已经有点太久了，”他说，并以计划中的养老金改革为例。
“A few projects now need to be wrapped up, finished, and brought to completion, projects that, in my view, have been sitting idle for a bit too long,” he said, citing a planned pension reform as one example.
“当然，起草法案需要时间，这是流程使然，但我感觉现在正是时候了，”伍斯特说道。他长期以来被视为接替梅尔茨出任党主席和竞选总理的潜在人选。
“Of course, it takes time to draft a bill, that is the nature of the process, but I feel it is now high time,” said Wuest, who has long been touted as a possible replacement for Merz as party chairman and a candidate for the chancellor job.
尽管他明确表示认为现在不是更换领导层的合适时机，但伍斯特对梅尔茨执政记录的批评格外引人注目，因为这位深陷低支持率泥沼的总理正面临巨大压力，必须遏制基民盟选民支持率的下滑。
Although he made it clear that he believes it’s not the right time for a change in leadership, Wuest’s criticism of Merz’s record stands out at a time when the deeply unpopular chancellor is under immense pressure to halt the CDU’s slide in voter support.
根据周日出版的《周日图片报》发布的最新Insa民调，梅尔茨领导的保守派联盟（含基民盟巴伐利亚姐妹党基社盟）支持率下降0.5个百分点至19%，创下近五年来最低纪录。
Backing for Merz’s conservative bloc, which includes the CDU’s Bavarian sister party, the CSU, dropped half a percentage point to 19% in the latest Insa survey for Bild am Sonntag newspaper published Sunday, their weakest showing in almost five years.
现年51岁的伍斯特与绿党组成联合政府执政北莱茵-威斯特法伦州，预计将在4月底的州选举中带领基民盟获胜，这可能会进一步增强他日后取代梅尔茨的机会。
Wuest, 51, who rules in NRW in a coalition with the Greens, is expected to lead the CDU to victory in an election in the state at the end of April, which could further strengthen his chances of replacing Merz at some point.
虽然下一次联邦大选要等到2029年初才举行，但考虑到默茨的不受欢迎程度，很难想象他还会再次竞选总理。上周发布的、针对公共广播机构ZDF的一项民调显示，近80%的受访者对其作为政府首脑的表现持负面看法，而65%的人不指望他能留任到下一次全国大选。
While the next federal election isn’t due until early 2029, it’s hard to imagine Merz running for the chancellory again given his unpopularity. Almost 80% of respondents in a survey for public broadcaster ZDF published last week expressed a negative opinion of his performance as head of government, while 65% don’t expect him to remain in office until the next national ballot.
本月早些时候，韦斯特与其他保守派州长一道公开声援默茨；当被问及如果赢得州选举，他是否承诺完成北威州州长整个五年任期时，他态度谨慎。
Wuest, who joined other conservative regional leaders in a show of support for Merz this month, was guarded when asked if he would commit to serving out his full five-year term as NRW premier if he wins the state vote.
他对德国电台表示：“我是冲着干满五年来竞选的，没有其他打算。我在这里有份工作要做——我仍在非常积极、满怀热情地履行这份职责。”
“I am running for five years, I have no other plans,” he told Deutschlandfunk. “I have a job to do here — one that I continue to carry out very actively and with great enthusiasm.”