The British weekly The Economist draws a conclusion on the era of Angela Merkel in a special report.
There is no lack of criticism of the Chancellor.
London - For the first time in 16 years, the Chancellor will no longer be called Angela Merkel after the formation of the government following the federal election on Sunday in 2021. The outgoing head of state experienced four French and four US presidents as well as five British prime ministers during her tenure. When considering this fact in connection with the charisma Merkel had in the European Union, it is hardly surprising that foreign media are also concerned with the departure of the Chancellor. This is also the case with the renowned British weekly newspaper
The Economist
, which in its current issue has published an eight-part analysis of the German status quo after 16 years of Merkel - with a mixed conclusion.
(Election data, live ticker, background coverage - all information about the federal election 2021 can be found in our politics newsletter.)
Merkel: British weekly paper reckons with Merkel - not a single "far-reaching reform"
Even if, according to the author Tom Nuttall, Germany can still be seen as an "island of stability in a changeable world", 16 years Merkel would also have exposed the dark side of German society and the economy. "A growing low-wage sector, growing income inequality, a fissured housing market and persistent child poverty," diagnosed the Briton about the Federal Republic. In addition, there would be the highest electricity prices in the EU. A development whose responsibility Merkel could not shirk, Nuttall judged. Although the outgoing Chancellor was convincing with her crisis management, she did not advance enough necessary reforms. "It's hard to find a single major reform that was passed by any of the four governments that led it," the article reads.
A development that now, since Merkel is vacating her post after 16 years, seems to question the future viability of the Federal Republic.
The Economist also
states in the report that fundamental changes in Germany are not to be expected even under Merkel's successor and sees the reasons for this also in the aftermath of the Merkel era.
"Perhaps most worrying is that the political class seems to have learned from Merkel that it is better not to scare voters off with too much talk about change, which leaves only a small mandate for change," the author said.
Germany after the Merkel era: British see many construction sites in the country
In the eight-part series of articles, Tom Nuttall then goes into the problem areas that Merkel's successor in office will inherit from the Chancellor: A hole in the infrastructure due to years of austerity measures. A troubled auto industry and its suppliers who have to face the challenges of a mobility transition towards the electric car. An aging population and its impact on the crisis pension system. A vacuum in the leadership of the European Union that Merkel will leave behind when she leaves and that her successor will probably find difficult to overcome. And the growing challenges in foreign and security policy, which range from the ailing state of the Bundeswehr to diplomatic relations with Russia and China.
Federal election 2021: Merkel's successor must overcome the "risk of complacency"
Although Nuttall states that none of the attested deficits are incurable, these are at least in contrast to the German complacency that arose under the Chancellor and has persisted to this day. “As the Germans prepare for the first new Chancellor in 16 years, the danger of complacency, for which Ms. Merkel will surely be remembered, has become evident. Overcoming them will be the greatest challenge for their successors, ”the author predicts. So it is a mixed picture that the British weekly paper paints of Germany after the Merkel era. A picture in which, in the author's opinion, the Chancellor has played a large part and which she will now hand over to her successors.
On September 26, 2021, the citizens of Germany will elect a new Bundestag that will decide on Angela Merkel's successor in the Chancellery.
In the latest polls, it now looks like a duel between Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Armin Laschet (CDU).
The Greens around Annalena Baerbock are currently in 3rd place
(fd)
List of rubric lists: © Markus Schreiber / AFP
