Angela Merkel wants to be liberal Europe's answer to Donald Trump

So, Angela Merkel has ignored the Spectator’s advice and has decided to run for a fourth term as German Chancellor in next year’s federal elections. If she wins and serves a full term, she’ll overtake Helmut Kohl as the longest serving German Chancellor since Bismarck. What does Merkel’s bid for four more years mean for Germany – and Britain? And after this year’s dreadful regional election results, how on earth has she survived to fight another day?

Last month Merkel looked like a busted flush, an electoral liability. Her decision to open Germany’s borders to over a million fleeing refugees led to a surge in support for Alternative fur Deutschland, Germany’s fledgling anti-immigration party. There was even talk that the CSU, the CDU’s Bavarian sister party, might field a rival candidate for the Chancellorship if she ran again. So why does she now look like a much better bet than she did a month ago? The answer to that question is Donald Trump.