On Sunday, Germany will elect a new parliament and with it a successor for Angela Merkel. After the election Merkel will remain in office until a new coalition is formed and a new chancellor elected. After 16 years in office, Merkel led Germany and the European Union through three major crises, starting with the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, followed by the European Debt Crisis in 2011, and then the pandemic in 2020.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.