Angela Merkel: "The Economist" blames ex-Chancellor for Germany's and the EU's decline

DER SPIEGEL Angela Merkel: "The Economist" blames ex-Chancellor for Germany's and the EU's decline 36 minutes • 2 minutes reading time Even before Angela Merkel's memoirs are published, the "Economist" makes a harsh judgment: After her chancellorship, Germany is once again the economically "sick man of Europe." At the end of November, ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel will present her new book "Freedom. Memories 1954–2021." The London-based magazine "The Economist" has already decided that the tone of the memoirs must be "rather defensive." Because: Merkel's chancellorship with "16 years of muddling through without reforms" has made Germany "once again the economically sick man of Europe." This is what a new "Charlemagne" column says. The leading business media outlet dubbed Germany the "sick man of Europe" 25 years ago. In the years that followed, there were also conciliatory assessments. In a special on Germany about the role of economic power in Europe, the magazine in 2013 even had high hopes of another election victory for Merkel. "Iron Woman" But the conclusion of Merkel's time in office is now drastic. Every month that passes is a reminder of how her reign plunged Germany into the abyss. Almost every decision made by the "Iron Woman" has led to Germany and often the European Union doing worse. In addition to the poor economic situation - for example due to chronically inadequate investment in the public sector - Merkel has left Germany with three dangerous geopolitical dependencies. Firstly, the country is not able to defend itself without the USA. Secondly, Germany has difficulty growing without exports to China. And thirdly, it is dependent on Russian gas to keep its industry running. Merkel has regularly met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks during her time in office. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine once again demonstrated Germany's "lack of preparation." Merkel also bore the blame for the collapse of democracy in some countries of the European Union, such as Hungary. Germany profited from business with Budapest - and Merkel protected the "up-and-coming autocrat" Viktor Orbán from criticism "out of convenience." In addition, her "friendliness" towards refugees in 2015 - "although commendable" - led to a political backlash that encouraged the rise of the extreme right in Germany and elsewhere. The text primarily accuses Merkel of one thing: "Merkel-ing," supposedly sitting out crises, often inactivity for months. It concludes: "Mrs. Merkel has led Germany as if in a false world and put it into a long geopolitical and economic nap from which it must first awaken."