When Angela Merkel leaves office after Bundestag elections next month, she will have forever changed the course of German history. Merkel has steered Germany through a recession, the Eurozone and migration crises and the Covid-19 pandemic. During the Trump presidency, Germany’s chancellor became an icon for liberals around the world. Yet her legacy in terms of Germany’s domestic politics leaves much to be desired. And her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has been left searching for meaning, with many voters now left wondering what the point of the Union is after Mutti.
On the face of it, Merkel’s insistence on reaching for consensus in German politics appears to be something to celebrate. Under her watch, Germany’s major parties have, generally speaking, principally agreed on the big political issues of the day, only diverging on timelines, what administrative measures should be taken and how much money ought to be thrown at the problem at hand. The vehicle for this quiet revolution at the heart of German politics was Merkel’s own party.
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