“She will be remembered as a true crisis manager,” Römmele said, pointing to the previous three global or pan-European troubles Merkel had led her country through: the global financial crisis, the Eurozone debt crisis and the migration crisis in 2015. Merkel’s personal approval ratings are through the roof and she is overshadowing the rest of her coalition government. “She started a massive revival, not just in Germany, but also in the world, because for the first time in 150 years, the world is facing a global crisis and people are not looking towards the US for global leadership, they are looking to Merkel,” said Andrea Römmele, a professor at the Hertie School in Berlin. Even her physical health has been questioned.īut when Covid-19 began to spread across the globe, Merkel stepped up once again. She stepped down as the leader of her party, the CDU, in 2018. Merkel had already announced that she would not seek re-election in the next federal election in the fall of 2021. Her political record had been damaged by the huge backlash against her “open door” refugee policy, her succession plan collapsed and her party was rapidly losing ground to the fringes. It has been a real transformation for Merkel, who began the year as a lame duck leader. Merkel warns Germany is on the 'thinnest ice' as Europe realizes social distancing is here to stay (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images) Maja Hitij/Getty Images ![]() Germany is still at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and will have to live with it for a long time, the Chancellor said. “When people are deeply insecure about the future, they seek protection and more certainty from the government.”īERLIN, GERMANY - APRIL 23: German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) speaks on behalf of the federal government at the Bundestag on Apin Berlin, Germany. “She is not a great orator, but this calm message to the nation contributed to the confidence of the people: 80% to 90% felt she can do it,” said Wolfgang Merkel (no relation to the Chancellor), professor of political science at Berlin’s Humboldt University. ![]() But she explained why doing so was necessary, and got Germans on her side. She referenced her East German background and the difficulty she had with the idea of restricting freedom of movement. Merkel, a pastor’s daughter with a doctorate in quantum chemistry, presented the grim facts of the pandemic while also offering a dose of compassion. When she decided to update German citizens about the coronavirus outbreak in March, it was the first unscheduled televised address she had given in almost 15 years of leadership. The German Chancellor addresses her nation once a year, in a pre-recorded New Year’s message.
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