Sentimental, relaxed, baffled, bored: The end of Merkel’s term of office and the struggle for her successor are also being followed closely abroad – with mixed feelings.
Who will it, who will do it, with whom, and in general: How will it go on? Shortly before the federal election, just as many questions and uncertainties waft through the German forest of newspapers, as do possible answers and scenarios that try to satisfy the voters’ need for planning and prognoses – because, and that currently seems to be the only reliable reality, after 16 years is over: Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) clears the field. A political turning point and turning point.
The voting on Sunday will therefore also be registered abroad with corresponding attention. Observers draw balance sheets, bend over the candidates: inside and their electoral body, look into the crystal ball. Their verdict is different, but almost always comes to the same conclusion: Germany is facing a historic decision of presumably international scope.
Thinking outside the box reveals the high reputation that the Chancellor enjoys abroad, the amazement at the way in which her successor is being struggled and a mélange of hope and concern about what will result from the election.
Almost sentimental
“What does life after Merkel look like?”,, readably amazed by the “symbol of stability in Europe”, namely Angela Merkel. For the first time “in a generation”, citizens would have to make the decision how Germany would look like after Merkel – she is no longer up for election – and who will continue the “impressive legacy of the most successful female head of state” that has defied all kinds of crises.
Merkel’s longevity resulted in her becoming the de facto European leader, and it is unclear whether her successor will take on the same role
During her tenure, she had dealt with five British and seven Italian Prime Ministers, four French and four American presidents each. A “remarkably eventful period of power”, reports CNN, which Merkel with her “unshakable presence” earned the international reputation of standing for “stability and prudence”.
The height of the fall is correspondingly high: Merkel’s political “longevity” has de facto made her the leader of Europe and it is unclear whether her successor will assume a similar role. With “unshakable determination” she tried to hold the international community together and to cultivate relations with the USA or China. Will your successor succeed?
Not a trace of sadness
The melancholy that echoes on CNN is almost counteracted by the hard-headed headline: “The world will not miss Angela Merkel”. It is true that the “darkest days under Donald Trump’s presidency”, which were also marked by chaos internationally, gave the Chancellor a “heroic image” as the “last adult on the world stage”. But the prognoses of the disaster that could follow after their withdrawal were based on “wrong premises”.
During her tenure, Merkel had shown “little ambition” to set the political agenda and “waited for the major debates of her time until it became clear where the wind was blowing”. An “admirable” circumstance in view of her long term of office, judges the paper – and presumably her secret of success: Merkel often stayed in the background, so that the voters never had enough reason to “get tired of them”.
Most voters seem to agree that it won’t make much of a difference anyway
Even after Merkel’s resignation from office, Germany is likely to be governed “moderately”, believes “The Atlantic”. It is true that there are, at least on paper, major differences between the candidates: they are about their successors. “But despite the obvious differences in age, biography, and ideological origin, all three effectively position themselves as forces of continuity.” The result was an election campaign “which was both turned upside down and strangely boring,” so the conclusion. Although most voters don’t know who will succeed Merkel, “most of them seem to agree that it won’t make much of a difference anyway.” Mood of optimism in Germany: Nothing.
Laschet yelps, Scholz praises
Behind this impression can also come together. After the second TV three-way battle (on September 12th on ARD and ZDF) between the opponents: inside the fight for the Chancellery, the paper came to the conclusion: “Germany has three candidates for chancellor and no answers”.
The candidates: inside presented themselves so “awkward” at the trielli that even a comedy show like “Saturday Night Live” would have difficulty pulling the event through the cocoa: A large part of the evening consisted of it, like Baerbock ” helplessly “watched the bickering between Laschet and Scholz.
There is no need to fear charisma in this year’s general election
“To be fair,” writes the paper, the TV format is not as practiced in Germany as it is in the USA. Nonetheless, the impression remains with “Foreign Policy”: “There is no need to fear charisma in this year’s Bundestag election”.
Laschet has a certain charm, but in the course of the election campaign he became “more and more mean and desperate” when the chancellorship threatened to slip away from him. In the TV trilogy, he had approached the SPD man Scholz with the “self-confidence of a miniature Spitz who yelps at a pit bull”.
Scholz had “most clearly resembled Merkel with his stubborn attitude of calm reliability” and had “handled” Laschet’s attacks skilfully. Attempts to ask him about his role in the Cum-Ex and Wirecard scandals, he had thwarted with a “balancing tone” and a cascade of technical terms that “gave his 90-second answers immediately like the second hour of an extended lecture made the history of finance appear “. Compared to Baerbock’s “pleasant restraint” and Laschet’s “desperate, self-assured yapping”, that made him appear as the “steady hand” that the Germans want most as Merkel’s replacement “.
Brutal boring
For them, too, it seems to be more exciting to watch the printing ink drying than the struggle for Merkel’s successor. “It is election season in Germany,” recalls the renowned US newspaper (with an ironic undertone?) In its headline, “no charisma, please!”. The result of the polls is “maybe exciting, but the two leading candidates are anything but that.”
In the article, numerous experts have their say, who especially don’t take good care of SPD candidate Olaf Scholz. The man who stoically tries to make a name for himself as a “Merkel clone”, the “most boring guy in this election – maybe in the whole country.” Olaf Scholz made it exciting to watch water boil. “But Germans, political observers point out, love boring,” writes the newspaper.
The leading candidate is so boring that it is compared to a machine
A courageous vision of the future was never a campaign hit in Germany, explains the newspaper. Even the first Federal Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, advertised and won with the promise of “no experiments”. The famous words of SPD Chancellor Helmut Schmidt are also quoted in the article: “Anyone who has visions should see a doctor.”
Will the strategy of restraint also lead to success for Scholz, the current leader in the polls? The newspaper is almost fascinated by the “Scholz-o-Mat”: “The leading candidate is so boring that it is compared to a machine.” As far as Merkel is concerned, according to the paper, she embodies, perhaps more than any of her predecessors, “Germany’s unmistakable political tradition of change through consensus, in that she ruled three of her four terms in office together with her traditional opponents”.
Thank you, Merkel – and watch out, Europe
Above all, he puts Merkel’s merits in the foreground and emphasizes the gap that she leaves after 16 years. The sheet takes “Farewell to a bulwark of liberal values” in “turbulent times”, honors her as the longest serving and “most influential European leader of the 21st century”. In the midst of a resurgent nationalism and deep political polarization in the West, it was “an important vehicle” for a “consensual, rule-based policy” in the world. The Guardian cites Merkel’s decision not to close Germany’s borders to refugees in 2015 as an example – showing a “generosity of spirit and compassion” that all Western democracies should strive for. ”
Some challenges could have benefited from more imagination and ambition
The paper also notes that her political convictions were “difficult to determine” – her “certain ambiguity, flexibility and calculated fade” are probably the secret of her success. But: “The deliberately reserved style worked in many crises,” sums up the “Guardian”. “However, some challenges could have benefited from more imagination and strategic ambition.” Merkel’s status as “one of the most impressive, skilful and secure political leaders of the modern age” is beyond question. “In the 21st century, no one else comes close.” West politics will lack their “reassuringly stable and constructive presence”.
According to Merkel, the subsequent coalition will have to prove that democracy is up to the great challenges of Europe
Above all the European Union, like the “Guardian” in one. The headline: “The fate of the EU is at stake in the election in Germany”. The international community is dependent on strong leaders and governments who keep the often sluggish and slow machine running – and who can assert democracy against dictatorships and authoritarian states. “After Merkel, the subsequent coalition will have to prove that democracy is up to the great challenges of Europe,” said the newspaper. And fears that there could be tough coalition negotiations after the general election. The paper jokes that the then acting Chancellor might still be able to give the New Year’s address in 2022 – “long after all obituaries for her 16-year term in office have been published”. In “one of their colorful jackets”, of course.
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
