Tory MPs who vote for the extension legislation will be barred from standing for the party at the next election

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