Germany's Scholz pledges less infighting as his government works to boost the economy

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is pledging that his government will tone down frequent public infighting that has weighed it down badly in polls as it works to pick up the country’s stagnant economy, Europe’s biggest

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged on Wednesday that his government will tone down frequent public infighting that has weighed it down badly in polls as it works to pick up the country's stagnant economy, Europe's biggest.

Scholz spoke after his Cabinet held a two-day retreat outside Berlin, emerging with plans to encourage climate-friendly investments, provide tax relief for companies and cut red tape. The meeting followed months in which the three-party coalition's agenda to modernize Germany has often been overshadowed by internal squabbling.

“We are a government in which hammers and screws are at work, and that leads to noise, as you have noticed — but things come out of it,” Finance Minister Christian Lindner said.

Scholz made clear that he's banking on less noise going forward.

“We will hammer and tap, but with sound absorbers,” the chancellor told reporters. “It shouldn't be heard any more.”

Center-left Social Democrat Scholz leads a coalition of socially liberal parties that took power in late 2021 with a progressive agenda. But their approaches to economic and other issues are often at odds, in particular between his two junior partners: the environmentalist, traditionally left-leaning Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats.

The two squabbled at length earlier this year over a plan to replace fossil-fuel home heating systems.

Two weeks ago, hopes of presenting a more united front after the summer break were dashed when one of the Greens' ministers initially blocked a Cabinet