Merkel embodies stability and the old paradigm segregates through boundaries of pragmatism. Like all old paradigms, the era has come for change, and Merkel has been too long in power, she becomes a symbol of stagnation, and has lost touch with our society. The time is more than ripe for her to go, so someone new can take charge. She should leave Berlin and take her shadow with her on the way out.
10
This situation is depressing. It could get worse when and if the 'chief locust' Merz is elected. The elites and lobbyists have ignored the people for decades: infrastructure, slow internet, social and housing crisis, retirees living in poverty, universities without innovations and fiscal fist tightness-black zero. The finance ministry is sitting on trillion of dollars that could be deployed to improve social conditions including cohesive integration of immigrats. As someone who worked in foreign affairs, Herr Techau is right. Germany is over the place but nothing ever gets implemented. Guido Westewelle, former FDP chaired a commission that produced a monumental report with recommendations to reform the United Nations. The Germans are good at filling. I'm convinced the report will never see the light of day policy wise.
7
Germany is a rich nation with minimal military, aging demographics and very big dependence on nations importing its goods. World geopolitics may have changed, but not that much. I doubt anyone from 1850 would have picked that profile as the world leader. Merkel did the best with what she had.
9
Merkel was an excellent leader. The world was lucky to have her so long. Germans were very prosperous and this article reads like a search for a problem that does not exist or a fix for something that is not broken. The US should be so lucky.
20
Many Germans feel that the country is no longer a land governed by law. The conservative party, Merkels party, is supposed to stand for law and order, but instead it allies itself with loosey goosey quasi hippydom of the left. This latest debacle where members of a legal party votes for a candidate of another party toppling the leadership of a third party, Merkels, is just a clear demonstration how disfunctional the political scene is. Left fascism is on gaining strength in German, not just among politicians but also their ANTIFA storm troopers. The German word that sums up the state of the state, is Frauenzimmer.
14
Historically speaking, this is a repeat of the fifth century, with the Western World being the equivalent of the Roman world. EU is the Western Roman empire, US is the Byzantine offshoot. Europe will fall first. Decades of marxist-globalist indoctrination stemming from academic institutions, pushing a culture of self-loathing is now completely dominant and it is leading to a general lack of will to compete. Nowhere is that more pronounced than in Germany and its sense of guilt. We have been told that Western World and the white people are the root of all evil, so now we are getting close to finding out what is awaiting past the collapse. Irony is that the same people who are pushing for this collapse are the ones who lament it and its symptoms.
25
Mrs. Merkel recent attempt to manipulate the outcome of the election in Thuringia by intervention (even from abroad) reflects the hallmark of her governmental style in general.
Since exercising her office as Chancellor perverted into an addiction, she lost control of the constitutional boundaries of the federal government. Questionable backroom room arrangements outside of the political spectrum are typical for her. To shortcut the standard process of political business is her usual approach.
However, here is the good news: the latter is facing stiff resistance from parties involved within this chaotic chain of events. Will the German public accept responsibility for having allowed Chancellor Merkel to pervert the governmental system?
6
@Rolf Siegen
"Questionable backroom room arrangements outside of the political spectrum are typical for her"
It looks like she has no idea about West Germany's constitution and legal principles. Why should she, she was raised, educated by the SED in the DDR who did not provide university admission to anyone who was not deeply immersed, and versed, in Communist ideology. The DDR was a fascist government. Maybe she was never reeducated in the laws and democratic principles of the BRD. I would not put it past to the Germans to miss something so important. It certainly looks like, aside from the immigration decision, her energy decisions were also made unilaterally between her and herself, having far more serious implications for future industry and energy supply to every home.
6
@LHP Certainly, Mrs. Merkel has firm knowledge of the German constitutions . However, by sidestepping those underpinnings she managed to charm the majority of German population pretending those informal arrangements as advantageous to society's inner peace.
Chancellor Merkel misjudged her approach not being appropriate in the event of strong societal stress. Several factors of that sort are indeed on the table: climate, concept how to fix the challenges through refugees in Europa and - in that very context - frustration with German population.
In plain English: unfortunately, Chancellor Merkel does not have the skills of strong leadership to usher in a new chapter in this decade. That's why , new,fresh spirits in the political arena are overdue.
4
It’s a pity for Germany that Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has dropped out. But please, Americans, stop wondering if Pete Buttigieg’s surname is too hard to pronounce for him to be a contender for the presidency.
9
Where's Bannon these days and who is he influencing?
4
Just another 1% hit piece to help justify the systematic destruction of all that the west has built since that vile war,
13
I'd just like to call attention to the authors' search for an 'answer' to 'the German question.'
...It's not terribly relevant to the substance of the article, but it did jump out at me.
6
@Kyle
Hm, I noticed that too. Somehow, I do not get the warm and fuzzies that this question at this time will be answered sanely either.
4
All of this has been foretold for millennia, this system of things is coming to its conclusion and quickly. The current world power US/UK will be the reigning and fully functional world power at the time of this systems demise, in looking at these 2 countries one can see its barely functioning at all so time is very short to get out of this system and take a stand for Gods Kingdom.
1
If Germany was leading this is probably a step in the right direction, because the EU has been off course and serving only the interests of Germany and France for too long.
10
@John Wallis
Well, that off-course seems to be the desired course. Germany in the sovergin lead with east european neighbours as its cheap labour source and a dumping ground for used cars and the south europe to supply fruits, veggies and vacation spots. At least Britain is no longer an obstacle, since it slammed the door, right?
It just does not seem very democratic or liberal. And I wonder why that does not bother anybody in the times of prosperity. What's going to happen in a society like that when going gets tough?
2
Angela Merkel was the worst thing that could have happened to Germany in 2005. She has been stagnant from Day1 and made only disastrous decisions that have been tearing Europe and the country apart, threaten the planet and ultimately gave rise us Donald Trump.
Yet she will not let go of power. She is openly sexist and will promote women over more qualified men in a heartbeat. The result is the meltdown of AKK, which was entirely predictable.
We will see Merkel running for reelection again, for the simple reason that there is no other candidate. She shifted her party so far to the left that the vacuum on the right is now being filled by the AfD, which is the worst possible outcome. The result is that the CDU will continue to lose its voters, just as the SPD is losing its voters to the Greens and the Left.
The result will be a polarized parliament where SPD and CDU are irrelevant and the dysfunctional left communist block will dominate. Those were precisely the conditions before the swing to the NSDAP in the late 20s. If that happens, the AfD will become the leading party on the right, since the CDU has all but vacated that territory.
Does Germany really want to relive a variation of that history again?
22
Speaking from a German point of view, at the moment there are so many "elephants in the room" that it's hard to know which one comes first.
But that said, there's no doubt that the near-end of Angela Merkel's time in office along with the recent resignation of her appointed heir apparent, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, and her conservative party's unfortunate flirtation with the right wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Thüringen's recent election are at the top of the list.
Add to that the debacle of the German auto industry, the U.S. trade war with China, the troublesome relation with the U.S. president, the ongoing immigration crisis in the country and the rest of Europe, and there's every reason why the Chancellor is "risk adverse" these days.
And while the problems facing the country aren't all-consuming as the present political climate here, it's enough to have Germans and the rest of Europe concerned about what, and who will come next.
13
@N. Smith Maybe the chancellor should have been more "risk averse" and not invited everyone in the middle east to immigrate to Germany, then turn around and try to get the rest of Europe to help her out of her own debacle? Then you wouldn't have a resurgent far-right in the first place.
17
@N. Smith
Merkel is risk averse, but it's worse, she will not make hard decisions, that do need to be made. She also freely flaunts German law, out of whim she decided to place 1.5 million people in the lap of the German taxpayer without any compensation, impact study, or consultation with Congress, or security experts, or the taxpayers themselves. This kind of heavy handed ill conceived decision making reminds Germans of nightmares in their past politics.
11
"“A country of our size and economic and technological power,” he said, “a land of our geostrategic location and with our global interests can’t just stand on the margins and watch.”"
Unfortunately, over the past hundred years whenever Germany has stopped watching it has begun marching.
That phrase may not resonate in the US too much, but it does in Europe particularly now that a fast rising, far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), has forced out Merkel's chosen successor.
The far-right is again a factor in Europe and Germany is positioned to potentially lead it.
7
Germany can not take the lead because other countries wouldn‘t accept Germany‘s leadership. Plain an simple. Germany‘s past will always be used to dismiss any attemt to take the lead. This is the situation now and this is not going to change. I don‘t even know why Germany should take the lead. Germany‘s industry relies heavily on 20th century products which are perfectioned until they become obsolete. There is no significant military and Germany‘s immigration policies are rejected by most European countries.
23
@Helleborus
German potential is too small for any true world leadership. 82 millions and a geopolitical "squeezed-in" position is nothing in relation to potentials of other global players. Even ruling big parts of Europe would never do to overcome this structural weaknesses. This is the true lesson of German past. Germany is always punching much above weight but even then it is too small for the super-heavy-weight class.
Ms. Merkel had learned this extremely well so she had focussed on the chances left in this position. This had been a crucial element for her tremendous success. This is over now because she is simply worn out as a person and her specific formula for success no longer holds water - in this order. But in general the German tanker carriers on because her basic strategic view is undisputed due to fundamental objective factors and the scopes of actions for Germany is not depending on any personal view of Ms. Merkel or others. Only details may be disputed.
Many of the Pundits asked here seem to never look on specific German interests and possibilities to act and somne of them are just following the self-interests of their backgrounds. We all know this. But the actual problem is not to deny. It´s the lack of down-to-earth decision-making within German margins. Ms. Merkel seems to have lost her grip on the situation. Others have to take over. But this does not mean Germany would do all things all those pundits are defining as leadership by theirselves then.
1
@ws, nobody was asking for „true world leadership“. This was about the EU.
2
I have always deeply admired Ms Merkel and her balanced leadership. But nothing can last forever. She should be allowed to step down gracefully. We have the same problem in the US, where neither party has nurtured and mentored a younger generation to produce real leaders, so we have all these old candidates frozen in various poses with not middle tier to take their place while promising young candidates mature.
8
Rebecca Hogan, Merkel could have stepped down gracefully two years ago. Now, it is too late for that and she can only step down disgracefully.
3
A distracted USA and a rudderless Germany. What could possibly go wrong?
4
Face it, the only vision the Germans have is to sell as many cars as possible. Beyond that, they are an utter non-entity globally and that's they way they want to keep it. Sorry if it offends, but everybody knows that's the reality.
26
mpound, and this is exactly the role the rest of the world wanted, or commanded, Germany to play after WW2. Produce nice cars, shut up and be as insignificant as possible otherwise. There was little room for anything else.
9
@mpound
You wrote: "Face it, the only vision the Germans have is to sell as many cars as possible. Beyond that, they are an utter non-entity globally and that's they way they want to keep it. Sorry if it offends, but everybody knows that's the reality."
But it's better that way. Germans are excellent at making cars and other products. I admire their commitment to order and efficiency. They contributed a lot to humanity in terms of music, art, science, technology. We all should do what we are good at. German are not good at ruling the world - actually, nobody is -- so no use whetting their appetite for it.
17
@Helleborus
What did you expect after Germany's brazen attack on defenseless Poland in 1939, imposing a rule of utter terror on her (I speak as someone whose Polish catholic grandfather and other relatives were murdered by Germans) and launching a mess of WW2 that caused unprecedented misery around the world?
6
Europe is not leaderless. They have Boris.
6
Boris can‘t lead Europe because he suffers from a severy Europe allergy.
6
Did you mean Boris and Vlad?
@Brewster’s Millions Boris Johnson is a celebrity PM with a celebrity father. He is not a leader.
1
Perhaps a small part of the problem is the German center’s insistence that the left and the fascist right are equivalent. The center conceded way too much to the nationalist parties because they fear the left too much.
3
@Dan
The extreme Left is as dangerous as the extreme Right.
Just as here in the US, the moderates see that clearly, but they have not alternative, no voice, no power.
The CDU was that power, Merkel destroyed it. At last she is showing the true colors of her communist upbringing.
11
Because the EU is being administered by 33k unrepresentative bureaucrats. It's slowly undermining the sovereignty of the continent. At first it looks great. Under developed members, like and Poland and get lots of money for highways and infrastructure, all EU people vote for representatives, but in the end, each person's vote is diminished by ghost bureaucrats they don't see, talk to, and an EC President they don't vote for (Lisbon Treaty, thank you Brok and Welle). Collectivism is fine, but you need a directly elected leader to marshall any bureaucracy. Without that, and with scant immigrant integration, the EU's liberalism is in need of a big revamp. There are millions of new workers in the world that the EU must both compete with and sell to. Who will get it right? The UK got it wrong, but one can see how it "feels" right to them. Just like the Trumpers in the US. It's very hard for such a large collective body to get right policies exactly right for the likes of both Berlin, and Mostar.
7
"Germany has traditionally acted reactively and pragmatically, with little strategic vision." Other than the "pragmatically" part, this perfectly describes Merkel's response to the migrant wave in 2015. Declare the border open, reassure everyone that all will be well, then resolutely shut your eyes to evidence that indicates otherwise. She can't be gone soon enough & thank god that AKK (Mini-Merkel) is gone too. Now perhaps Germany can begin to grapple with its many problems rather than pretend that all is well.
41
@Lotzapappa
I could not agree with you more. Germany became "rudderless" back in 2015 when Merkel opened the continents borders to un-vetted and culturally dis-similar non EU citizens - in the hope of making them into cheap labor (even as other European countries grappled with crippling unemployment of their young people). The NYTimes and other liberal media were praising her for that. It was only a matter of time before it was going to backfire.
41
@Lotzapappa
Keeping the borders open was the only human solution to defuse this situation. Everyone who disagrees, what would have been your proposal? closing the borders, and let all these people stay somewhere in the balkans, hungary or greece. Or just shoot them at our doorstep ?
We did this not because of our past, but because we are the strongest nation in the EU, because we can not demand sacrifices from anyone else when we are not willing to make sacrifices of our own.
We did more than our fair part, and we did good. Sometimes i think people lash out at us because they are jealous, that we stood our ground and did not fail.
75
@Mathias Weitz Yes, Europe as a whole should have closed the borders and sent everyone back to the middle east. The ware in Syria was encouraged by Turkey and they should have to deal with the fallout and host the refugees themselves.
24
We are not leading because nobody would be following. This was one big lesson from the refugee crisis 2015. Only a few countries stood up to this challenge, germany was the last country to do whatever it takes. Until Merkel stroke this sordid deal with the sultan at the bosporus.
And we got lambasted for taking the brunt of this humanitarian crisis ever since. I think that finally broke Merkel. That was when most germans realize, that our allies are just showboats, talking big, but bailing out when there are vexations. When it comes to leading, we are alone, and get scolded for anything we do ask for.
Just realize, no one wants us to be the leader, they want us to be the unpaid custodian. And we just do not apply to this offer.
55
@Mathias Weitz You took them (the migrants), so they're yours now. What did you expect? That every other European country would jump for joy at Merkel's mad whimsy? And why did she imagine herself to suddenly be the Empress of Europe, making decisions on behalf of all of the EU? This was the other part of her madness. And clearly German delusion continues, as it seems that many Germans actually believe that the other nations of Europe should be grateful for this decision. Get Real(politik), Herr Weitz.
24
@Mathias Weitz
You don't and didn't get any solidarity or support, because the decision your leader made in 2015 was unilateral, with no support from the governments that you later expected to take that self-inflicted burden off your hands. Now you feel sorry for yourself, but will not admit your own (Merkel's as your leader) bad judgment.
17
Merkel was overrated from the beginning. What really has she done that was good for Germany? Since her election, Germany has been in stagnation. Just as Trump now tries to claim credit for the benefits of Obama's economic policies, Merkel benefited from the economic reforms that Gerhard Schroeder instituted. And remember, in 2003 she wrote an op-ed in this paper, advocating for the Iraq war. Her domestic policies can be subsumed into one expression: do nothing. The a large number of members of her cabinet from her own party (CDU/CSU) are incompetent (Sec. of Transportation, Sec. of Education, Sec. of Agriculture, and yes, Kramp-Karrenbauer, Sec. of Defense). Just as Trump here, she has a coterie of sycophants and enablers. "Leader of Europe"! A German should be the last one to claim that title! Never forget: Merkel was an official in the East German power hierarchy (a Secretary for Agitation and Propaganda). She was allowed to go abroad, and she studied in Moscow. She was well trained by the communist regime and used that knowledge effectively to her advantage.
16
@flyer78
Remarkable! You are the only one so far who has either come to the same conclusions as I have, or has had the courage to spell it out.
Excellent Analysis! Merkel's recipe of success is precisely what you have laid out: Do nothing, wait until the winds clearly blow in one direction and then use the power of the pulpit to claim that direction for herself.
But don't forget the key motivation: Staying in power at all cost. Forget what is best for the country.
And as far as describing the qualifications of her cabinet: Spot on!
9
@Captain Nemo
Thanx for the flowers! Of course, her main motivation is/was staying in power. There is much about her background that is shady, including a "rumor" that she was a collaborator of the Stasi. Fact is, that she was privileged in the East German power structure. When the wall fell, she saw a chance to advance her career as a politician (she never cut the mustard while in science), and the "old white men" of the German CDU (she was nicknamed "Kohl's girl") let themselves get wrapped up in her scheme. Later, she stabbed Kohl, her mentor and protector, in the back. She is an opportunist in the guise of a friendly and well-meaning middle-class house wife ("Mutti", as she is called by many; I call her "Honnecker's Revenge").
8
I am sure they will figure this out. One of the small prices we pay to have and keep our democracy, leadership shifts.
2
Being a citizen of the world, or even the EU, is neither realistic nor practical.
20
I find your comment not only willfully ignorant but also offensive because, actually, there already are quite a lot of us who ARE citizens of the world ... AND citizens of “the EU”, where I lived and worked for the past 10 years and where, I was gratified to witness, most people under 40 already identify as “European”, with q similar world-view. I identify as “international”; so does my husband; so do our children; as do our siblings and their spouses and their children; ditto for many of our closest friends. We are people who grew up, bi- or trilingual, in more than one place, who continued to live and study and work in more than one place, who identify with more than one place, who do not feel a “patriotic alliance” to a specific place - who were told, from an early age, to “take the best and leave the rest.” This is what we strive to do, this is what we model for the young, this is the point to which human evolution should take us.
36
@MH
Yours is one point of view. But humans have always been tribal.
Hence, the majority of people in the world do have a strong feeling of belonging to a certain specific ethnic, national, and cultural background, and have no intention to adopt your cosmopolitan views in their lives.
13
MH, I am, in descending order, a citicen of
1) my hometown, 2) my county 3) my state, 4) my country, 5) Europe, 6) the western world, 6) the earth, 7) the solar system, 8) our galaxy 9) the universe.
15
Maybe being in power for 14 years is 7 too long. Merkel has served well and now she’s failing to stick the dismount.
Sometimes you have to know when to go, but telling people too far in advance is even worse.
4
'“Germany is the elephant in the room,” '
Why exactly? For the impeccable economy, for being always on top, for being extremely efficient and productive regardless of who is at helm?
Hand-picked successor or not, this is the tempest in the glass of water; there is no doubt that Germany will plow on as successfully as always. What happens to the rest of Europe is not exactly German problem, they are not teenagers needing parents ('leaders').
22
@ss I lived in Germany for several years. Disillusioned Americans don't want to believe it, but Germany has some serious challenges ahead of it in spite of admirable qualities like their economy and social benefits.
29
Daiao, I can second that. And I have been living in Germany for my whole life, with the exeption of one year, which I spent at a university in the US. The mechanisms which granted Germany a high standard of living are based on yesterday‘s world order and technologies.
14
@ss Spoken like an American who actually has no idea what is going on in Germany. Just as in third world countries America is still seem as a beacon and a place where anyone can succeed and become rich, Germany still holds some mythical place in the minds of some Americans. It's just not true. The AfD wouldn't have beaten the CDU candidate in last week's election in Thuringia if things were as rosy as you seem to think. This truly is a critical time, if not yet quite a crisis.
11
..Leaves Europe Leaderless, Too
No
Ever since being elected Macron has wanted to become Europe's next leader
From the NY TImes , last year
Macron Steps Into a Leadership Vacuum in Europe, and on Some Toes'
NY Times, Nov. 1, 2019
See also The Telegraph, UK, 2020
"France will take lead on deterrence as EU's only nuclear power after Brexit, says Emmanuel Macron"
Telegraph, UK, 7 February 2020
With Britain out, and Merkel fading, Macron is now within striking distance.
7
@talesofgenji Maybe it will be an Italian in office for a few days or if lucky a month or two.
1
I always love it when the Times analysis contradicts itself. Can both be true? Sometimes it’s even two articles on the same day “Democrats in disarray” “Democratic field has party energized”. My issue is not with the idea that more than one narrative can be true, but that often the Times lands on one without addressing competing possibilities in the same article. For example, there is no reason at this point to continue a “Democrats in disarray” narrative, as the primary is an inherent part of the process — what do you want, sycophantic party machinery like that of 45?
5