No leader is indispensable, but it does feel like the future of Europe stands or falls with Angela Merkel. She’s been the godmother of the European Union for almost 15 years, and other leaders have learnt to accept one unspoken rule: Merkel is the adjudicator. Her aura of supreme power infuriated Nicolas Sarkozy, who wanted it for himself. Greece’s leftist leader, Alexis Tsipras, fumed that Merkel wanted to make his country a vassal state, ruled by Berlin and the gnomes of Frankfurt. But now she’s at risk of losing her power, and even her enemies fear that her absence will pull Europe in different and conflicting directions.
One newly elected European leader once explained Merkel’s role in Europe to me. He arrived in Brussels for a crisis summit, and wasn’t sure that the currency union would live to fight another day. His anxiety got bigger during the long dinner meeting. Several leaders were in multiple shouting matches.
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