{"id":5018,"date":"2025-02-09T20:29:58","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T20:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/angela-merkel-is-retired-but-shes-still-on-the-ballot\/"},"modified":"2025-02-09T20:29:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-09T20:29:58","slug":"angela-merkel-is-retired-but-shes-still-on-the-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/angela-merkel-is-retired-but-shes-still-on-the-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"Angela Merkel Is Retired. But She\u2019s Still on the Ballot."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A chorus of criticism greeted Friedrich Merz, the favorite to become Germany\u2019s chancellor, last month <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/31\/world\/europe\/germany-friedrich-merz-immigration.html\" title=\"\">when he broke a taboo<\/a> against working with a hard-right party to pass legislation. But it was a lone voice of dissent that rocked the country\u2019s political scene: Angela Merkel, the once-beloved former chancellor, who called Mr. Merz\u2019s decision simply \u201cwrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Merkel and Mr. Merz have famously jockeyed to lead Germany\u2019s Christian Democrats for much of this century. Ms. Merkel won the early rounds, served 16 years as chancellor, and retired in 2021. Mr. Merz finally has a chance to win her old job in elections this month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Ms. Merkel is complicating his efforts \u2014 both with her open critiques and, more important, with a policy legacy that German voters have soured on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The German election is animated by concerns over <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/17\/world\/europe\/germany-government-collapse-economy.html?searchResultPosition=1\" title=\"\">a stagnant economy<\/a>, a decade-long surge of immigration, high energy prices and tenuous national security, with Russia waging war to the east and President Trump threatening to upend NATO from the West. The problems have led to a reconsideration of Ms. Merkel and how she steered Germany.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It was Ms. Merkel who kept Germany\u2019s borders open starting in 2015, allowing what became millions of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere to settle. That move has spurred a backlash among German voters. Many political leaders blame it for the rise of the hard-right party Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which has campaigned relentlessly on deporting certain immigrants and sits second behind the Christian Democrats in national polls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It was Ms. Merkel who agreed to shut down the country\u2019s nuclear power plants and increase Germany\u2019s reliance on imported natural gas from Russia, helping to create an electricity price spike and a security crisis years later, after Moscow decided to turn off the taps following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And it was Ms. Merkel who, economists say, underinvested in revitalizing Germany\u2019s critical infrastructure, contributing to what German business leaders often call a competitiveness crisis. She also pushed for deepened trade with China and the rest of the world. That bet on a globalized business model that has gone bad in a new age of populist protectionism by countries like the United States and increased competition from low-cost Chinese imports for Germany manufacturers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the waning weeks of the campaign, Ms. Merkel is taking criticism from all sides of the contest. Her <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/22\/world\/europe\/merkel-memoir-trump-putin.html\" title=\"\">memoir<\/a> did not make the splash many analysts expected when it was released last fall. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bild.de\/politik\/inland\/bundestagswahl-2025-deutsche-denken-heute-ganz-anders-ueber-merkel-679f4bd5d72ca12c3499ca0e\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">A poll released last week<\/a> by the Bild news organization, conducted by the research agency INSA, found 43 percent of Germans now say Ms. Merkel\u2019s policies were bad for the country, compared with 31 percent who say they were good.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In many ways, Ms. Merkel finds herself in a similar historical position to that of President Bill Clinton in America. She was once the most popular leader of her generation, on the strength of overseeing an economic boom. Now, like Mr. Clinton, who has seen public opinion turn strongly against his moves to sign NAFTA and throw open trade with China, she finds her legacy under attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She is responding with few regrets, and, with the election looming, by criticizing Mr. Merz.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That criticism has drawn a backlash, and a renewed focus on Ms. Merkel, even though she is not running for a parliamentary seat this month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cMerkel\u2019s book and her recent public statement are, unfortunately, more about insisting on being right than about providing working solutions to people\u2019s current problems,\u201d said Nico Lange, a former chief of staff to one of Ms. Merkel\u2019s defense ministers. Her actions, he added, were \u201ctherefore perceived negatively, even by most of her former supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">No single policy action is driving German voters in this election more than Ms. Merkel\u2019s refugee decision in 2015.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At the time, Ms. Merkel praised the German public for embracing downtrodden migrants, even those who did not qualify for official refugee status. But German society has been strained by a decade-long influx of migrants who arrived with little or no German language knowledge, and who have often received significant social assistance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A series of seemingly unrelated deadly attacks, carried out by immigrants in Germany cities over the last year, has vaulted migration to the top of voter concerns along with the economy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Analysts roundly agree that attention has helped the AfD, parts of which have been classified as extremist by German intelligence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Merz was attempting to address voters\u2019 migration concerns when he pushed a package of tough-on-migration measures in Parliament late last month, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/31\/world\/europe\/germany-friedrich-merz-immigration.html\" title=\"\">breaking a postwar consensus<\/a> against working to pass laws with parties deemed extreme.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Merkel\u2019s decision to allow refugees to flow freely into the country \u201cwas just a big shock to Germany that we\u2019re still grappling with, that explains some of the politics today,\u201d said Cornelia Woll, a political scientist who is the president of the Hertie School, a private university in Berlin. \u201cI think it\u2019s fair to say, did we bite off more than we could chew?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Economic research has generally found immigrants boosted the size of Germany\u2019s economy over the past decade, by working and by spending money. By some measures, the nation has been more successful than many of its peers in helping immigrants integrate and learn the local language.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oecd.org\/content\/dam\/oecd\/en\/topics\/policy-issues\/migration\/Sii2024--Germany%20(ENG)%20%E2%80%93%20v6%20(FINAL%20with%20bookmarks).pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">A report last year<\/a> from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that the employment rate for immigrants in Germany hit 70 percent in 2022, a record and much higher than most other European Union countries. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Still, polls have shown rising voter unease with migration and crimes committed by immigrants. Politicians, including a wide range of chancellor candidates in this election, have increasingly responded by denouncing Ms. Merkel\u2019s policies of welcome.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Alice Weidel, the chancellor candidate for the AfD, repeatedly raised and disparaged Ms. Merkel last month in an interview with the billionaire Elon Musk on his social media platform X. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Christian Lindner, the chancellor candidate for the pro-business Free Democrats, said in an interview that some German parties \u201chave still not recognized what the overriding interest of the people in this country is \u2014 namely, a break with Merkel\u2019s policies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Even Mr. Merz has piled on. \u201cWe find ourselves left with the tatters of 10 years of misguided asylum and migration policy in this country,\u201d he said last month, impugning both Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ms. Merkel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Merz and his Christian Democrats joined the AfD to pass a mostly symbolic migration measure late last month; a second vote, aiming to toughen the migration law, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/31\/world\/europe\/germany-friedrich-merz-immigration.html?searchResultPosition=2\" title=\"\">ultimately failed<\/a> amid some defections by party members.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Merkel\u2019s criticism of Mr. Merz came just before the final vote and further strained her relationship with the party they share. Ms. Merkel declined to take an honorary party position after her retirement, as is often customary, and rarely appears at party events.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It also contributed to an image of stubbornness that has defined Ms. Merkel\u2019s time out of office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cShe really does not recognize her mistakes,\u201d said Stefan Meister, the head of the Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia at the German Council on Foreign Relations. \u201cI think this is, for me, really crucial.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-9\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In her autobiography, \u201cFreedom,\u201d Ms. Merkel seemingly blamed her successors in Germany\u2019s mainstream political parties for aiding the rise of the AfD, by tacking to the right on its signature issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-10\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe democratic parties have considerable influence over how strong AfD can become in practice,\u201d Ms. Merkel wrote. \u201cI am convinced that, if they assume they can keep it down by appropriating its pet topics and even trying to outdo it in rhetoric without offering any real solutions to existing problems, they will fail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And while she conceded few major errors on policy issues, Ms. Merkel\u2019s book contained some broad admissions of fallibility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI know that I am not perfect and make mistakes,\u201d she wrote, about halfway through its nearly 700 pages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-11\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Near the end, she added, \u201cA chancellor should never have to apologize too often, but neither should they shy away from doing so when unavoidable, for fear that it could be interpreted as weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Melissa Eddy<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/09\/world\/europe\/angela-merkel-is-retired-but-shes-still-on-the-ballot.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A chorus of criticism greeted Friedrich Merz, the favorite to become Germany\u2019s chancellor, last month when he broke a taboo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[1348,2133,1342,1337,2135,163,1439,861,151,569,468,1344,763,160,286,98,101,2134,1341,1343,1599,1346,469,1345,1347],"class_list":["post-5018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-alice","tag-alternative-for-germany","tag-angela","tag-christian-democratic-union-germany","tag-christian-w","tag-deportation","tag-economic-conditions-and-trends","tag-elections","tag-europe","tag-european-union","tag-foreign-workers","tag-friedrich","tag-germany","tag-illegal-immigration","tag-immigration-and-emigration","tag-international-relations","tag-law-and-legislation","tag-lindner","tag-merkel","tag-merz","tag-nuclear-energy","tag-olaf-1958","tag-politics-and-government","tag-scholz","tag-weidel"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Angela Merkel Is Retired. 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