A titan steps down in Europe

The farewell honours done and the accolades graciously received, Angela Merkel will leave Germany in the hands of a new Chancellor on Wednesday. There were times in 16 long years when Angela, a physicist-turned politician, was considered a leader of the free world, particularly when the maverick Donald Trump or a floundering Biden was in the White House and a steadier hand was needed on the rudder. She retires from politics as a gigantic figure standing abreast with the loftiest in world politics as a leader who gave voice to reason. Euro-centrists celebrated her as a powerful German Chancellor who had mastered the art of the politics of the possible in running coalition governments comprising even rival parties.

Huge changes have come about since her ascent in a virtually unipolar world in which USA was dominant and in the present when China’s economic and military rise has taken us back to the days of trade wars, if not quite a return to the Cold War. In the very vulnerable environment of today, she leaves Germany in the hands of an even more unlikely Left wing coalition under the charge of her successor, Olaf Scholz, a wannabe Merkel who may be forced to dance to the tunes of the socialists and the greens as they hold vital cards even as authoritarian regimes in the neighbourhood threaten the energy scene with gas pipelines and also occasionally the peace.

It is often said that a saint is not honoured in his/her own country but Merkel’s case might be the opposite as only those outside her home of Germany consider her less than exalted in status as they point out her approach to dealing with China and Russia, her less than ideal support to NATO and some unforced errors in foreign policy. There is no doubt it will take Germany some time to get back the pan-EU vision and the wider world view of Merkel who was once so powerful she could even buck the trend in the first world by showing a sympathetic face to migrants and allow thousands into her country on humanitarian grounds, which is rare for European nations.

Huge changes have come about since Merkel’s ascent in a virtually unipolar world in which USA was dominant and in the present when China’s economic and military rise has taken us back to the days of trade wars