Letters | 8 November 2018

Hubris and nemesis

Sir: Douglas Murray’s assessment of Angela Merkel’s decision to stand down as German Chancellor (‘Europe’s empty throne’, 3 November) suggests a certain symmetry with the fate of our own former Prime Minister. David Cameron also declared that he would leave office at a time of his own choosing, but circumstances conspired against him. Mutti shows a great deal of presumption in announcing she will stay until the next election. If German politics bears any resemblance to our own, the very act of announcing a long goodbye will ensure that she leaves before her chosen moment. Cameron brought about his own demise by hubris, thinking he could renegotiate the terms of EU membership. Merkel’s hubris lay in inviting a million migrants into her country without a mandate from her people. In trying to stage her own exit, is she, like Cameron, tempting fate?
Joanna Rossiter
Oxford