German Chancellor Friedrich Merz backed the government's pension reform package on Sunday, putting him at odds with the Junge Union youth wing of his party, which opposes the legislation. "Yes, I will vote in favour of this pension package with a clear conscience when it comes to a vote in the German Bundestag," Merz said at the Junge Union's Germany Day in Rust, southern Baden. He said the reform was only the prelude to a more comprehensive debate on fundamental changes in the welfare state.