German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that she will not seek for re-election and will retreat from politics after what will be her last of her chancellery on Monday. It seems like no one has expected that Merkel, who has long been hailed as the most powerful woman in the world and the de facto leader of Europe, will end her legendary political career herself.
The sudden announcement came after the debacle of regional elections in Hesse and Bavaria, where Merkel’s CDU and its conservative sister party SPD have long enjoyed superiority. The coalition has lost its majority, and the support for CDU underwent a drastic decrease, dropping 11 percentage points to 27 percent, which is said to be the party’s worst performance since 1996. The outcome is seen as a defiant tone struck by disillusioned people, who are not satisfied with the current coalition government and are demanding changes with their protest votes.
Merkel has been the chairwoman of the CDU since 2000 and became chancellor in 2005. As her European counterparts are embroiled in political chaos and economic quagmire – French president Emmanuel Macron is suffering from a drop in his support rate while British Prime Minister Theresa May is mired between her own party members and officials in Brussel over Brexit – Merkel is able to lead her country steadily out of crises over the past decade. However, the turning point of her career occurred in 2015, when she announced her open-door policy to deal with deteriorating migrant crisis. As a result, more than 1 million immigrants entered the country, bring with them the threat to security and stability long enjoyed by German people. People voted for Merkel because she guaranteed them safety, but her decision of opening up the border was viewed as an act of betrayal to her support base.
Disquiet and dissatisfaction have been simmering and Merkel has not overseen them, which are reflected by the failure in regional elections. Speaking with a reporter, Merkel said she realized that it is time for a change, and by her resignation, she hopes that she can help both the country and her part start afresh. Her decision is generally welcomed by her party members and other politicians. Merkel has resigned as the party chair but will remain the chancellor until 2022.
CDU will have to elect a new leader to replace Merkel soon. One on the potential successor list is CDU’s secretary general Annegret Kramp Karrenbauer. Known to people by her acronym AKK, Annegret is a centrist loyal to Merkel and shares the same view with the chancellor in terms of migration policy. On the other hand, she is on the right of Merkel in terms of same-sex marriage and abortion. Merkel has refused to support her because she does not want to influence the result of the future election.
The Bottom of the Well 