Future of the chancellor
After 16 years as Chancellor: What is Angela Merkel doing now in retirement?
Is she dreaming of retirement here? Angela Merkel has revealed little about what she would like to do in the future.
© Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP
For Angela Merkel it is now: retirement. After 16 years as Federal Chancellor, she is leaving German politics. But what does she do with her free time? Merkel does not reveal much about this – but here and there a hint.
On Wednesday, Olaf Scholz will (most likely) be elected as the new Federal Chancellor by the SPD. The coalition is in place, the contract has been signed by the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. This ends an era, namely the Merkel era. With the election of Olaf Scholz, her 16 years as Federal Chancellor will end.
Angela Merkel does not want to stay in politics – and does not want to become a backbencher, as some in British politics do. The 67-year-old is retiring. In the well-deserved, many believe. After 16 years of directing state fortunes, managing crises and making state visits all over the world, you can treat yourself to a long break without a guilty conscience. But what is Merkel doing now with all the newly gained time?
Merkel on retirement: “A little sleep and then let’s see”
Not much is known about it. Merkel is very cautious when it comes to private matters. But here and there she gave a glimpse of what she had planned for her retirement. She and her husband Joachim Sauer will probably be able to do something with their time, said Merkel in the summer at her last major press conference in Berlin.
In July Merkel received an honorary doctorate from Johns Hopkins University on a visit to the USA. There she said about her future that she wanted to take a break and think “what really interests me,” said Merkel. “And then maybe I’ll try to read something, then my eyes will close because I’m tired, then I’ll sleep a little, and then we’ll see.” She will probably do that in her dacha in the Uckermark, where she already enjoyed relaxing during her tenure.
She would probably not be able to just flip the switch when making important decisions in the Federal Republic, the Chancellor said at the time. But “then it will quickly occur to me that someone else will do it now. And I think I will like that very much”.
Angela Merkel gets her own office with staff
She also “doesn’t want to accept the next invitation right away because I’m afraid I have nothing to do and nobody wants me anymore,” said Merkel when she was awarded the honorary doctorate.
One thing is certain: Angela Merkel will have a staff even after her departure as Chancellor. For your office there is then an office manager, a deputy office manager, two technical specialists: inside, three clerks: inside and two drivers: inside. The main committee of the Bundestag had admitted this to Merkel. Read more about it here.
“It is in line with long-term state practice that the Federal Chancellor is provided with an office when he is not on duty in order to support them in fulfilling their official duties,” said Steffen Seibert, who also ended his work as government spokesman with Merkel’s end. The staff will provide Merkel with technical and organizational support. “Private activities or activities that are aimed at income will not be supported by this future retired office,” said Seibert.
And what else will Merkel do in retirement? One can only speculate about this at the moment. But since she and her husband are passionate hikers, it can be assumed that both of them will go on hiking trips together in the future. And as opera fans, the two of them will certainly go to the opera too – very privately. But first Merkel has to get through her last day of work. The comedian Carolin Kebekus can imagine: she will end it with a phenomenal dance.
Further sources: tagesschau.de, RTL.de, Focus Online