from
Nico Fried, Berlin
Ultimately, as is so often the case with Angela Merkel, it’s pretty matter-of-fact. On Thursday evening, the Chancellor followed the Great Zapfenstreich at Berlin’s Bendler Block attentively, but without any noticeable movement. She rocks her legs to the music, nothing more. The Zapfenstreich, the Bundeswehr’s highest honor for civilians, is the ceremony with which Merkel is officially bid farewell after 16 years – but with which she also bids farewell to many of her companions. A solemn occasion and, for some, a wistful one. But as we know Merkel, she may even have a little pleasure in disappointing all those who wait a good three-quarters of an hour for a moist glimmer in their eyes. For Merkel, the chancellorship is not show business.