Angela Merkel announced to her CDU party’s committee that she won’t run for another term as party leader in December, but will remain as German Chancellor until the end of her term.
A Germany (and Europe) without Merkel… How can this be? I don’t even remember when it was the last time that I was looking at German politics and Merkel wasn’t at the forefront. Indeed, during my lifespan, I have only “known” three German Chancellors (as opposed to other countries where heads of government change all the time).
Helmut Kohl took office in 1982, prior to the German reunification (which was marked by the fall of the Berlin wall on 9 November 1989) and prior to me being born. (We don’t care about that date!) Mr. Kohl remained in power until 1999, for a total of 17 years. After the German reunification, Helmut Kohl’s era was characterized by rising unemployment, as Germany struggled with reducing the (still noticeable to this day) economic discrepancies between its Eastern and Western parts.
Gerhard Schroeder took office after Helmut Kohl, for just one stint. His term, all things considered, didn’t have any (visible) extraordinary effects on Germany’s economy.
And then, back in 2005, almost 14 years ago, enter the hurricane Angela Merkel. In less than four years from her taking office, German GDP rose to between USD3.5b to USD4b, levels at which it remains to this day. Granted, this performance can be at least partly attributed to the seeds sown by the previous government of Gerhard Schroeder, but the fact that Germany has remained largely unscathed from the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, the 2015 refugee crisis and the (still ongoing in my view) Eurozone sovereign debt crisis, is entirely Merkel’s work.
During Merkel’s tenure, German unemployment has fallen to the lowest since the reunification. Government budgetary surplus has risen to a whopping 2.9% in 2018, again a record since reunification. With the central government spending being controlled tightly despite the continuous surpluses, Germany is indeed leading by example when it is asking from other Eurozone countries to be more mindful of their spending.
As much as I am worried by Italy’s latest caprices, I feel equally calm, assured and contempt knowing that Chancellor Merkel is still at Germany’s helm. And indeed, this is what I am going to miss about her the most: The sense of security that her presence offers to us Eurozone citizens.