Thursday, December 10, 2015

Angela Merkel, Person of the Year? Eine Katastrophe, More Like

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in no mood to negotiate
THE TELEGRAPH: The German leader just named 'Chancellor of the Free World' by Time Magazine has actually seen her reputation and popularity take a hammeriing in 2015

Angela Merkel has just been named “Chancellor of the Free World” and Person of the Year by Time Magazine. But the reality is that she is hardly flying high. After more than a decade in office, Germany’s first female head of government is dragging her party down in the polls, openly criticised by her finance minister, out of step with her European partners, and prompting the streets to fill with angry protestors.

Her most powerful rival, the Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, has compared her to a “careless skier” who precipitates an avalanche. His mutiny against Mrs Merkel’s “open door” migration policy has strong support from a German public that is now thoroughly alarmed by an influx with no end in sight. Protests against her policy are mounting, yet she has refused to back down.

So how did it all go so badly wrong for the world’s most powerful woman? (+ video) » | Daniel Johnson | Wednesday, December 9, 2015