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The end of the Angela Merkel era becomes official tomorrow in Germany

Politics has been the ruler of Europe’s first economy for 16 years. She became the most powerful woman in the world.

Qualified several times as the most powerful woman in the world, Angela Merkel says goodbye to politics this week by officially leaving the position of Chancellor of Germany, from which she firmly and strategically led the political line to her country and, on several occasions, those of the European Union (EU).

Tomorrow (Wednesday) Merkel will put an end to her 16 years at the helm of the Government, being the first woman in office and one of the people who has maintained it for the longest time together with one of her mentors, the late former Chancellor Helmut Kohl (also 16 years, from 1982 to 1998), although it does not exceed it for a few weeks.

His successor will be an opposition-ally: Olaf Scholz, of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who is currently the Minister of Economy and Vice Chancellor of Merkel (of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU) thanks to a coalition.

Although the chancellor has been in power for more than three decades in this country with a parliamentary system, which unlike countries in which there is a presidential system, the Executive is chosen by voting in Parliament (Bundestag), more than half of that time has had to form coalitions with the SPD, liberals and even environmentalists. Therefore, his government and his policies have come out of negotiations and agreements.

Despite a balance full of lights and shadows, marked by memorable moments such as the reception of migrants in 2015 and their aptitude to manage crises, but also by the lack of ambition in the climate battle and in the modernization of Germany, according to AFP, Merkel remains one of the most appreciated personalities by the Germans after her four terms.

“Angela Merkel was a successful Chancellor,” praised Scholz, honoring a leader who “remained true to herself for 16 years marked by many changes.”

The new chancellor, who is already presenting himself as Merkel’s heir, wants to inject new breath.

“I want these years to be a new starting point,” Scholz told the German publication. The time, stating that it wants to launch “the greatest industrial modernization” in recent history “capable of stopping man-made climate change.”

His government also promises a very pro-European policy, with the aim of “increasing the strategic sovereignty of the European Union” and better defending “common European interests”.

And it is that who is at the head of Germany is a very important figure within the EU, since although the EU has its own institutional framework, in practice figures like Merkel have had a great influence on decisions, explains the analyst Spanish Luis Espinosa Goded.

“Germany is the main country in the European Union and its specific weight continues to be much higher than that of the others and it is evident that Angela Merkel with a 16-year mandate and strong leadership has been very decisive in the structure and functioning of the European Union. … in addition to having a very committed Europeanism, ”says Espinosa.

He adds that there are those who think that now that this strong leadership within Germany will not be there, that may allow other leaderships within the EU to acquire more power, at a time when each State has faced the pandemic in different ways and there is a latent challenge. of nationalisms that put the foundations of the union at risk.

“On the other hand, it is still difficult to know what will happen to Scholz, especially considering that he is part of this semaphore coalition (due to the colors of the parties: red, SPD; yellow, liberals; and green), in such a way that there are different sensitivities within her government … Angela Merkel has been able to make side-by-side alliances, but she has been strong in any of these alliances. The question is whether Scholz will have that position or not, ”says Espinosa.

The politician, currently 67, has also been a defender of liberal democracies and part of the main allies of the United States and its presidents, despite certain problems such as the wiretaps published in the presidency of Barack Obama (2009-2017).

For Michael Werz, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, it will be recalled that Merkel adhered to the tradition of pursuing the German national interest in an emphatically non-nationalistic way, and that she was one of the few Western leaders who have a legacy of questioning and defy authoritarian leaders, including Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

“However, in foreign affairs, his legacy is mixed: he was an unconditional of reliability and he maintained a firm alignment of the country in the Western alliance. But he also erred on the side of too much austerity during the European financial crisis in 2010, chose to appease the increasingly authoritarian Chinese government too often, and struck a refugee deal with Turkish President Erdogan, paying his corrupt regime to maintain. Syrian refugees in Turkey, an agreement that undermined the moral authority of Germany and Europe, ”says Werz.

Regarding US-German relations, he says that things will not change much, since with the arrival of Joe Biden to the White House there was a reconnection with the European allies and NATO.

“Scholz is a moderate and submissive Social Democrat. The new government will likely be less austere and more open to spending to support European integration and the green transformation of the German economy. The new government will certainly reorient foreign and economic policy towards a human rights-driven agenda, especially when it comes to Russia and China; the language of the coalition treaty dealing with these two autocracies is loud and clear, ”adds Werz.

Along that line, the new chancellor has already spoken and will put the environmentalist Annalena Baerbock as the future head of Germany’s Foreign Relations, who intends to adopt a tougher line against authoritarian regimes such as China and Russia.

But despite these issues, the first thing Scholz will have to face is the new wave of the coronavirus pandemic that has the local health system in trouble. To do this, he will appoint the Social Democrat Karl Lauterbach, one of the most respected scientific experts since the outbreak of the pandemic and a supporter of tougher restrictions, to the Ministry of Health.

Scholz, experienced but not very charismatic, wants a quick vote on mandatory vaccination, which could take effect in February or March. This, despite the fact that a sector of the population opposes the measure in this and other countries of the continent. (I)

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