Coronavirus: in Germany, Angela Merkel rehabilitated by the crisis

Correspondent in Berlin

Just a month and a half ago, Angela Merkel was a suspended chancellor whom her opponents and allies of the CDU were considering dismissing prematurely, a head of government who has lost leadership. And his party was moping, walking like a headless duck, rejected by its electorate. Forty-five days later, by the sole and ironic grace of the coronavirus, the Christian Democratic party collected 37% of the voting intentions, six points more than in the legislative elections of 2017, far ahead of its competitors.

Read also: Coronavirus: why is the death rate in Germany so much lower?

And its former president, Angela Merkel, alone embodies the political life of the country, projecting an image of reassuring chancellor, relegating to near-complete anonymity those who could succeed her, with the exception of the president of the CSU, Markus Söder. Although overtaken by the Bavarian leader in the popularity rating of the Germans, she manages the crisis with " calm and pragmatism ", say the newspapers. It acts as a " parachute

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