When the history of the twentieth century is written, one of the questions that will puzzle historians is the sanctification of Angela Merkel, whose memoir is published today.
Merkel was Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2015, and chosen as the third most powerful person in the world by Forbes in 2016.
When she stepped down as Chancellor in 2021 after 16 years in power, she was described by the BBC as someone who ‘has given her country what it expects from a leader: a voice of calm in a turbulent and shifting world’. In its tribute to Merkel, the Washington Post described her as ‘one of the savviest and most powerful leaders in the world’.
Merkel would probably have been remembered as a dull and plodding leader had not a series of events unfolded in quick succession between August 2015 and November 2016
Merkel continues to exert a curious hold over some commentators, three years after she left office, during which time Europe – and particularly Germany – have suffered economic and social hardship as a result of her short-sighted, arrogant and incompetent leadership.
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