The former Chancellor sat as a model for the “Spiegel” for its current cover story. It becomes clear that even nine months after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, doubts and self-criticism are not her thing.
Angela Merkel between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Paris in December 2019.
Angela Merkel has to fear for her posthumous fame. Celebrated as a “heroine of the free world” when she said goodbye and still the queen of polls in January, only 23 percent of Germans now want her to return to the office, which she gave up at the beginning of December 2021 after more than 16 years. A whopping 71 percent, on the other hand, do not insist that Merkel end her retirement, which has been spent on travel, audio books and occasional appearances, and return to the Chancellery.