What a refreshing opinion! Thank you very much for that. Although, I think Merkel should have been a social democrat ;-), I completely agree with the view that she was the most competent person for the job Germany could come up with.
And besides all the economic facts you gathered so eloquently, Merkel also chose the right path morally a few times. Especially, during the refugee crisis she had the guts to leave the borders open despite a headwind from all sides.
Imagine yourself being a refugee because all hell broke loose in Europe. And you made it all the way to Russia or even China. And you know they can help you. They won‘t starve or get bankrupt or lose their cultural identity because of you. You just want to save your family. And now they say „No! You are family no. 1.000.001. Get out!“ (=We are afraid, for no proven reason, that we can‘t get enough bread, milk, butter, cars, petrol or smart phone apps once you enter.)
In my view Merkel chose morally correctly. Also during the pandemic. Imagine you have to decide between saving lives of a lot or keeping up the standard of living for few… In my world that is an easy choice.
Sorry, if I went a little bit off track here. I just wanted to point out that in addition to everything that has been said, I also see the character driven choices she made. Even though I never voted for her party and never will do in the future, it is a shame that her time is over.
Excellent summary! I am a Brit living in Germany, and exactly for the reasons mentioned in this article, plus some. I admire and respect the UK for having given me the equal opportunity to learn and develop my skills, but the political and economic decisions of the past decade have been far from optimal. Well, for an expat, at least you did me the favour of devaluing the currency so badly with Brexit, that it made the currency and UK assets very cheap for a short period of time. A great injustice for the people of UK and Europe. Mutti, you will be dearly missed.
Indeed - a great summary, and good from someone who knows both sides of the water.
With currency there are winners and losers whatever happens, going up, going down, staying the same value - so I personally don't feel aggrieved by this anymore than the weather or music charts.
Ah, but those currency devaluations are once (or twice or thrice) in a lifetime opportunities to get assets cheap! You know when you're talking to an emerging markets trader ; ) Bring on the Great British Peso was what I was hearing on the floor!
Ouch, browsing a few months later and this didn't age well... Mutti, you will be dearly missed, LOL. Psychoanalysis recommended :-)
Good riddance to the worst politician in living memory. She helped to create the russian monster and must bear some responsibility for what is happening in Ukraine. Hypocritical foreign policy, Trump bad, Genosse Xi good. Brexit whilst she was running EU. Preaching net zero and buying russian gas bypassing NATO allies. Uncontrolled economic migration. Economy stuck in the last century. Lots of iron no serious tech companies. Black passenger of European security. Not that Olaf 'in Putin's pocket' Scholz is any better.
Joachim, telling it like it is! Does anybody even read the Torygraph anymore? It's just a bunch of ideologues engaged in wishful thinking. Entertaining reading? Maybe - sometimes I have to suppress laughter! But as the basis for decision-making? Useless.
Yes, I advise Joachim to lie down in a quiet room for 20 mins with a glass of brandy after reading the Telegraph as it's obviously tipping him over the edge! Likewise with the Guardian, which is also pandering to a (different) audience as it could have a similar effect on a sensible reader.
I'm not saying don't read these news sources, a broad idea of what everybody else is being told is important - plus there are many stories uncovered by "proper old-fashioned" journalism which would otherwise be ignored.
..now where did I put my bottle of Courvoisier?......
What a refreshing opinion! Thank you very much for that. Although, I think Merkel should have been a social democrat ;-), I completely agree with the view that she was the most competent person for the job Germany could come up with.
And besides all the economic facts you gathered so eloquently, Merkel also chose the right path morally a few times. Especially, during the refugee crisis she had the guts to leave the borders open despite a headwind from all sides.
Imagine yourself being a refugee because all hell broke loose in Europe. And you made it all the way to Russia or even China. And you know they can help you. They won‘t starve or get bankrupt or lose their cultural identity because of you. You just want to save your family. And now they say „No! You are family no. 1.000.001. Get out!“ (=We are afraid, for no proven reason, that we can‘t get enough bread, milk, butter, cars, petrol or smart phone apps once you enter.)
In my view Merkel chose morally correctly. Also during the pandemic. Imagine you have to decide between saving lives of a lot or keeping up the standard of living for few… In my world that is an easy choice.
Sorry, if I went a little bit off track here. I just wanted to point out that in addition to everything that has been said, I also see the character driven choices she made. Even though I never voted for her party and never will do in the future, it is a shame that her time is over.
Excellent summary! I am a Brit living in Germany, and exactly for the reasons mentioned in this article, plus some. I admire and respect the UK for having given me the equal opportunity to learn and develop my skills, but the political and economic decisions of the past decade have been far from optimal. Well, for an expat, at least you did me the favour of devaluing the currency so badly with Brexit, that it made the currency and UK assets very cheap for a short period of time. A great injustice for the people of UK and Europe. Mutti, you will be dearly missed.
Indeed - a great summary, and good from someone who knows both sides of the water.
With currency there are winners and losers whatever happens, going up, going down, staying the same value - so I personally don't feel aggrieved by this anymore than the weather or music charts.
Ah, but those currency devaluations are once (or twice or thrice) in a lifetime opportunities to get assets cheap! You know when you're talking to an emerging markets trader ; ) Bring on the Great British Peso was what I was hearing on the floor!
Ouch, browsing a few months later and this didn't age well... Mutti, you will be dearly missed, LOL. Psychoanalysis recommended :-)
Good riddance to the worst politician in living memory. She helped to create the russian monster and must bear some responsibility for what is happening in Ukraine. Hypocritical foreign policy, Trump bad, Genosse Xi good. Brexit whilst she was running EU. Preaching net zero and buying russian gas bypassing NATO allies. Uncontrolled economic migration. Economy stuck in the last century. Lots of iron no serious tech companies. Black passenger of European security. Not that Olaf 'in Putin's pocket' Scholz is any better.
Joachim, telling it like it is! Does anybody even read the Torygraph anymore? It's just a bunch of ideologues engaged in wishful thinking. Entertaining reading? Maybe - sometimes I have to suppress laughter! But as the basis for decision-making? Useless.
Yes, I advise Joachim to lie down in a quiet room for 20 mins with a glass of brandy after reading the Telegraph as it's obviously tipping him over the edge! Likewise with the Guardian, which is also pandering to a (different) audience as it could have a similar effect on a sensible reader.
I'm not saying don't read these news sources, a broad idea of what everybody else is being told is important - plus there are many stories uncovered by "proper old-fashioned" journalism which would otherwise be ignored.
..now where did I put my bottle of Courvoisier?......
I'm starting to see the benefits of radical centrism, thanks Joachim :)
Merkel is a POS who has destroyed Germany with immigrants who are both unwilling and unable to assimilate. Good luck living in the Caliphate.