Angela Merkel defends decisions as Chancellor against criticism

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) does not consider any of her decisions in the various crises during her time in office to be a clear mistake. She told the editorial network Germany (RND) this week that she took note of the criticism of her Russia, refugee, corona and digitalization policies, but: “I am not backing down from my decisions.”

With regard to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, she said: “But I can well understand that people who see what (Kremlin leader Vladimir) Putin is doing in Ukraine accuse me of making mistakes. I have to live with that.” According to her own statement, she did not forego cheap gas from Russia during her time in office because that would have damaged the economy at the time. It was important to her not to cut off not only political contacts but also economic connections. Given the background, she was saddened by the fact that “there is often a lack of will to go back in time.”

However, she can understand the feeling of many people in the East that Germany is going downhill like the GDR back then. In response to a corresponding question, she told the RND: “I can understand the current basic feeling of irritation. It is more firmly anchored in the new countries than in the old ones, but the alarm bells must also ring there that we make an effort and preserve our prosperity and ours Having to constantly re-establish a standard of living.”

The former Chancellor presented her memoirs, which she wrote together with her long-time confidant Beate Baumann under the title “Freedom. Memories 1954-2021”, on Tuesday evening at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. In contrast to her 16 years in office, Merkel allows a look behind the scenes of politics in some places in the book.

stern chief correspondent Nico Fried was on site. Read his piece for the book launch .