New Delhi, July 3 -- later retirement, fewer sick days, more flexibility on fixed-term contracts, and €10 billion a year in income tax relief for workers who earn below the top bracket. Whether that future arrives depends on whether the Bundesrat - Germany's upper house of parliament - is willing to share the cost.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU-SPD coalition unveiled a 34-measure "Programme for Revival and Employment" at a press conference in Berlin, calling it the most comprehensive overhaul of the German economy in a generation. Deutsche Bank economist Marion Muehlberger described the package as "one of Germany's biggest reform packages in decades" and predicted improved economic sentiment in the second half of 2026.

That sent...