Strange moment at Merkel's farewell PK: CDU-Verhaspler leaves room for interpretation

Angela Merkel's summer press conference is also history.

The Chancellor flashed a legacy.

And, of all things, on the subject of the CDU, she got tangled up meaningfully.

Berlin - If the relegation of a football club has already been sealed, people like to talk about a “farewell tour” before the final games. Now does not rise Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), although

from

- but definitely

out

: After the parliamentary elections in the fall of their final term will end as German head of government. And accordingly Merkel is also on a big farewell round. Through more or less cherished appointment cycles. The 67-year-old has already completed her last government survey in the Bundestag. The last appearance in the federal press conference followed on Thursday.

Was it a historic moment?

Given the sober data, maybe yes.

Merkel faced the group of capital journalists 29 times.

However, the Chancellor did not set off emotional fireworks.

Probably also in the face of serious problems: Merkel warned of a "worrying corona dynamic" and had to answer urgent climate questions.

She explicitly wanted to leave the grand balance sheet for the chancellorship to political posterity.

However, the Chancellor had a greater political legacy to deliver before her dry closing remarks - it was that of the “head of the natural sciences”.

And at least the farewell PK offered a smile that was as small as it was telling.

Ironically, when it came to the relationship between the Chancellor's party and her party.

Angela Merkel's last summer press conference: Chancellor will fundamentally - concern for "our open societies"

In the last third of her last appearance at the federal press conference, Merkel was basically - not of her own accord, but upon request.

"Our open societies are already under great pressure," warned the Chancellor.

A first important countermeasure is the "social market economy", participation in society.

People shouldn't “despair” of society.

The second is “willingness to talk”.

"Where the political conflict becomes so hard and always ends in personal degradation, the possibility of building bridges at all often ends," warned Merkel.

The compromise as such is not a bad thing, but something “constitutive for democracy”.

She will always fight for this knowledge.

Merkel's “longing for efficiency”: Chancellor sees “the foundations of the Enlightenment” in question

Merkel's appeal sounded even more urgent with a view to the impact of social media - this “almost a little questioned the fundamentals of the Enlightenment,” she warned. Namely when "feelings and emotions are mixed with facts". “Facts are facts and must be observed. I can't weigh that against feelings, ”said Merkel, probably also in her character as a scientist. Feelings should be respected. But the enlightened Western societies should uphold the "factuality" of their arguments.

Merkel's statement on the role of women in politics also seemed to fit in with this: “Women tend to have a certain longing for efficiency,” she stated. It can be assumed that the Chancellor expressed her own feelings quite openly. And the long-term Chancellor also made a further personal request to her successors: she would like "when someone from the old Federal Republic of Germany becomes Federal Chancellor that there is simply great interest in biographies from the former GDR". The injuries, the feelings, the need for recognition in East Germany - this is something "that one should still take care of in order to understand the whole of Germany".

The subject of “compromises” also includes confession to mistakes - Merkel admitted some on Thursday: the failed attempt at “Easter rest” as the last example, long adherence to the Kyoto Protocol, and probably also the hope of “voluntary commitments” by the economy in terms of women's quotas.

The Chancellor cited the NSA wiretapping affair as a disappointment from outside.

But she also made it clear: Even this scandal did not have a lasting effect on the relationship with the then US President Barack Obama.

Merkel then also campaigned for a foreign policy of trust - she learned a lot as Chancellor.

Especially because of trustworthy discussions and relationships with office colleagues.

Merkel's farewell to the Chancellery: what comes after the federal election?

"Will be able to do something in time"

But what will the East German scientist in the Chancellery do herself after she has left?

Will she miss the big political stage?

"What you miss you usually only notice when you don't have it," said Merkel, sharing a wisdom.

You don't have to worry: "I'll be able to do something in time," she joked.

But it's not that far yet anyway.

The current challenges are "huge", she said.

Too big to deal with "the time after that".

In any case, she will also enjoy the rest of her term of office.

Merkel's last words were friendly and sober: “Thank you, it was a pleasure,” she said to the media representatives, in a nutshell.

Merkel and the CDU: "The party that is close to me ..." - Chancellor quickly reinterprets little Verhaspler herself

The only thing left to look at is the amusing episode of the summer press conference.

Merkel began to falter for a moment.

The Chancellor made a slip of the tongue when it came to the very simple question of where she would spend the evening of the election.

"I will already have a connection to the party that is close to me ...", Merkel began, stopped and improved: "... of which I am a member." The experienced politician quickly interpreted the little stumbler as a particularly binding commitment Solidarity with the CDU.

"Well, she's close to me and I'm her member - a double commitment," she said.

But angry tongues will find other interpretations - especially against the background of the fact that the Union was mocked at Merkel's chancellorship as a “Chancellor's electoral association”.

This relationship will also be the subject of analyzes - possibly even for political science.

But there is still a little time until then.

Finally, Merkel has not yet

made

increased.

And the pressure remains high, unlike the obligatory Bundesliga relegation tour.

(

fn with material from AFP

)

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