As a trained barista I very much disagree.. while I don't work as one professionally, coffee, or rather espresso, has been a core part of my life. The same way a sommelier might find pleasure in life through buying expensive and exotic wines (and by extensions tasting them), there have been periods of my life where I almost exclusively survived by buying expensive espresso roasts and tasting the resulting coffee.
In today's world many passions and pleasures that can be intrinsic to someone's being cost money. I couldn't even tell you how much money I have spent on espresso beans, coffee equipment (machines, grinders, etc), audiophile equipment, synthesizers, and records. These are the things, along with my family and job, that make life worth living for me — and my family is not always available, and my job not always good. If I'm struggling to wake up in the morning, I dial in a new bean. If I had a tough day, I put on a record.
CDU is center right by normal terms, so no, Merz as an individual is likely not more progressive than Biden or Harris. But because the existing systems that Biden, Harris, and Merz occupy are radically different, the ultimate effect of their politics isn't decided exclusively by some meter of how progressive they are. ~~Anti-immigration vis-a-vis Germany is very different to anti-immigration vis-a-vis the US, for example.~~ (edit: bad example)
What I mean to say is that a conservative led government in Europe, such as Germany under Merz, will still be much, much more progressive than a progressive led government in the US (i.e. hypothetically Harris with dems controlling the house and senate). This is because progressive issues like gun control and healthcare are unrealistic dreams even for Dems in the US, while they are established policy in Germany, that even Merz will not change.
So while you are right that Harris and Biden are, as individuals, more progressive than Merz, I think that in the grand scheme of things this does not show itself in the governments that they would run. This is also often what is meant with "Europe's Right is America's Left."
Edit: Merz, not März; thanks for the correction.