Angela Merkel: What her era leaves behind in human terms

Angela Merkel
What the Merkel era left behind in human terms

I was 13 years old when Angela Merkel, 67, became Germany’s first female Chancellor in November 2005. 16 years have passed since then and today, at 29, I look back on the Merkel era. From the schoolyard to my first election letter to my own wedding, this woman has lined up the political office and influenced me more than I would have believed a few years ago.

In 2021 it’s time to say goodbye. About a woman who became a symbol for refugees. From a woman who was described by her own mother as “too in need of harmony”. By a woman who was initially underestimated by many – above all Gerhard Schröder, 77. It is the farewell to the most powerful woman in the world. For me personally it is saying goodbye to a woman who has been present for more than half of my life – but what remains of the Chancellor?

Angela Merkel – Political Failure, Human Success?

I am honest: it is a tightrope act to say goodbye to Angela Merkel as a person and at the same time to say goodbye to the politician Merkel. Because the now 67-year-old is responsible for many failings, especially for my and the younger generation. Probably her biggest flaw as Chancellor: Merkel did not pursue a long-term strategy. She has treated climate protection far too negligently over the past 16 years. The digitization of the country was allowed to slide, which was particularly evident in the pandemic. Your decisions in migration policy are controversial and heavily criticized to this day; here, too, she lacked a long-term view.

But I do not want to suppress her successes either: without ever demonstratively exercising power, she has achieved an undisputed position of power in Germany and, above all, Europe, and as a European politician is valued and respected by her colleagues. The Ukraine crisis is described by “Spiegel” as Merkel’s “foreign policy masterpiece” and is considered to be one of her greatest successes. In 2014 it prevented a major military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. There are successes and failures – as in any career. But as you can already see in the title, I am concerned here and now with the human aspect of your chancellorship.

Your chancellorship has broken stigmata

Angela Merkel’s chancellorship meant a lot to me and always will. Growing up as a young girl in a country led by a woman has shaped me significantly. Her assumption as the first female chancellor and also the youngest in history played a central role in feminism for Germany: Merkel normalized what should be normal – women in leadership positions and women in top politics. I grew up with this scaffolding; knowing that women belong in such positions. And yes, the gender pay gap is still real. I myself have had to experience firsthand what it is like not to be taken seriously as a young woman. And yet I never had any doubts about my worth as a woman.

Angela Merkel’s sovereignty remains

Merkel’s strategy of “exercising caution” may have led to some of her greatest political failures. Her calm nerves, her motherly motto “We can do it” and her sovereignty shape my image of the Chancellor. I will never forget the moment when Merkel received the Ukrainian President in 2019 and the tremors began. To experience her in such a moment of weakness was decisive for me. The concern that then broke out showed how exactly these qualities of strength, sovereignty and serenity were expected by everyone and how shocked Germany reacts when the Chancellor suddenly appears fragile.

Even in her last weeks and months as Chancellor Angela Merkel kept her calm and decided to leave office herself. An important step. Politically probably the right one. And yet I still have the feeling of losing the woman who shaped my entire youth and my image of women and career.

Angela Merkel’s departure has a bitter aftertaste

Germany will vote again on September 26, 2021. The Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and the Chancellor candidates Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Armin Laschet (CDU) are running. A question that has been buzzing in my head ever since: What is Merkel not only leaving behind in human terms, but what is she leaving behind for her party? The verdict is bitter. Merkel would have created someone new much earlier, should have promoted more women in politics. Armin Laschet as CDU chancellor candidate? For me it is a step backwards of more than 16 years. A failure for which Angela Merkel shares responsibility.

Politically, Merkel is leaving behind a mountain of work: in addition to climate change, the consequences of the pandemic policy as well as migration and asylum policy. The list goes on. But human, the Chancellor leaves big footsteps that will be difficult to fill in …

On a human level, Merkel leaves a feeling of sovereignty. It leaves an image of feminine power that never appeared too aggressive. It leaves the feeling of “We can do it”. But above all, it leaves my generation – and especially us women – the knowledge that feminism, power, strength and calm can go hand in hand. Politically, it is time for change – personally, I would like the new Chancellor to follow Angela Merkel’s example and become more than a Chancellor: a sovereign companion: in the life of the voters.

Brigitte