Lionel Barber is former editor of the Financial Times. He is author of"The Powerful and the Damned: Private Diaries in Turbulent Times."
The chancellor's trademarks are cool analysis, Machiavellian ruthlessness and an acute sense of the"safety-first" German psyche. Strategic patience -- some would say procrastination -- has been her modus operandi during multiple crises, including the COVID pandemic, the eurozone sovereign debt crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Merkel's tenure has been a model of political stability and sound economic growth for Germany -- a continuation of the country's rehabilitation after a terrible 20th century scarred by two world wars. According to the Federal Statistics Office's latest projections, Germany's population could decline from 83 million today to 74 million in 2060, assuming net immigration remains low. By then, there would be 11.8 million fewer Germans of working age, from 21 to 67, but 5 million more of retirement age.
In a perfect world, these issues would be fiercely debated in the German election. But the media has focused more on character, starting with the initially promising Greens party candidate Annalena Baerbock's exaggerated work experience on her CV, and the somewhat hapless Christian Democrat Armin Laschet caught on camera laughing inappropriately in the presence of flood victims. Both Baerbock and Laschet have also been accused of plagiarizing material in their books.
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