Press review: Farewell to Angela Merkel – media

The change in the Chancellery does not only concern the Germans on election day. All over the world it is exciting to see who will take on the role that Angela Merkel has played for 16 years in the future. Many international observers take this as an opportunity to look back at the era of the first German Chancellor.

The Spanish newspaper El País commented on the day of the federal election on the end of Angela Merkel’s chancellorship. El País praises the pragmatic style of the CDU politician and calls her balance sheet “glamorous”:

“For four terms and 16 years she has been shaping politics with her sober, pragmatic style and at the same time has stayed close to the everyday life of her compatriots. But she has also achieved global stature for other reasons. By constantly orienting herself towards the political center Aside from the extremes, she almost always has a sensible policy. With this flexibility, which in Spanish domestic politics would rather be criticized as inconsistency and opportunism, she led coalition governments with different partners: three times social democrats, once liberals. In this way, she also built a firewall against the ultra-right populism. This trip also included the search for a political focus that unites values ​​and interests, the nation and the EU, the national and the global, the economy and the social. Merkel’s record is glamorous and it has the equation of Germany as an economic giant and a political dwarf Lich resolved. There is still room for improvement, but Merkel has also succeeded in turning Germany into a locomotive in this area. “

The Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera from Milan analyzed the strengths of Merkel’s chancellorship in a similar way on Sunday and emphasized in particular her commitment to a common Europe:

“The Germans say goodbye to the mother of the nation, who has protected them for almost two decades, averted dangers and threats, guaranteed prosperity and security. In a somewhat ironic and mischievous” bye “there is not only nostalgia and gratitude, but also that Realization that you have to look ahead, that you have to leave behind an era that was happy but no longer tenable. (…) It has been more than thirty years since she entered politics, sixteen at the Top of Germany. But Angela Merkel has basically always remained a scientist who has only been loaned to politics, who tackles and solves problems by approaching them step by step, on the basis of data and facts were practically interchangeable for her, Merkel always preferred the values: human rights, freedom, equality in society, multilateralism (… ) Her true greatness was that she had kept Germany firmly on the trail of Europe for so long – which is not at all taken for granted in many countries – and that she has always found possible solutions without putting too much heart and soul into it. In doing so, she has created a historical example of public and ethical morality that has rarely existed before and can hardly be replicated. “

The British Sunday newspaper The Observer in her comment on Wahl, on the other hand, looks more forward:

“One party is unlikely to win a majority in the Bundestag. Coalition talks to form a new government could take months. In the meantime, Merkel is practically in office. The uncertainty about who will replace her is a big change in comparison to the often foreseeable politics of the past 16 years. But you shouldn’t be too enthusiastic about it. Neither Olaf Scholz, who leads the SPD, the largest center-left party, nor Armin Laschet, Merkel’s conservative preferred candidate for the successor to the CDU, offer radically different programs. Both men emphasize continuity while advocating modest, incremental change. This is a problem.

The people of London Times commented on Saturday the end of the Merkel era and focused primarily on her role in the European Union:

“The best that can be said about her style of governance is that she has helped steer Europe through a number of crises. In particular, she was instrumental in putting together a number of rescue packages in nightly summits. .) Despite all her weaknesses, she leaves office after 16 years with an approval rating that any head of government in the world would envy. Many will miss her stubborn, rational pragmatism, not least when the next crisis comes. Her perhaps greatest legacy is that it led the rise of Germany after reunification to undisputed supremacy in Europe, but the country’s partners around the world wanted stronger German leadership. Unfortunately, there are few signs that their successor will do so. “

The Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant would like to see a realignment of German politics on Saturday, but is not very confident:

“Merkel’s policy was rooted in the world after the fall of the Berlin Wall. A world that no longer exists. A new era, however, requires a new direction. For a Germany that invests more in its infrastructure and in its people. A country that is guided less by trade interests than by the need for European geopolitical autonomy in an increasingly uncertain world. Whether Germany will break with ‘Merkelism’ after Merkel is very questionable. The election campaign was not characterized by major changes. The next one is likely to be Coalition consist of very different parties that neutralize each other. In this case, Germany will continue to pursue Merkel-style policies, but with a Chancellor who has less experience and less stature. “

The Norwegian social liberal tabloid Dagbladet comments on the state of digitization in Germany on Friday:

“Merkel’s worst legacy is the lack of digitization of society and modernization of the public sector. Germany is lagging behind in the EU when it comes to the expansion of fiber optic cables, and on par with Bulgaria in terms of digitization of public administration you like to appear in person or send a letter on paper. The federal government has more than 900 faxes in use, and pneumatic mail is used in Merkel’s office. When Germany closed schools in March 2020, the teachers were unable to teach students remotely. Germany is Europe’s strongest economy, but so far behind in the digital world. This is where the next Federal Chancellor has to work hard. If Olaf Scholz does, he can go on a study trip to the north, where his social democratic friends will soon rule all countries – without a fax. “

.
source site