I used to like German chancellor Merkel, who is privately modest – nowadays hard to find amongst the world’s senior politicians. I also felt that I could support her basic values, which took the conservative CDU left of where it used to be. I also liked the way she handled the Corona crisis in the beginning, taking professional advice to guide her in leading Germany’s policy.
Merkel has to work within the limitations of the country’s federal structure (imposed on it by the Allies, to prevent a strong centrally run Germany). Sixteen federal states, each with its own ego-driven prime-minister, have made Merkel’s Corona job almost impossible.
Having understood the severity of the Corona problem at an early stage, Merkel should have demanded federal jurisdiction in Corona matters. Instead, she left logistics, tracking and tracing, testing and vaccinating to the sixteen states. And the chaos is great. She then left the all-important procurement of vaccines to an impotent and inexperienced EU apparatus. The result is that Europe’s richest country is vaccinating like a third-world country: It has neither enough vaccine, nor has it built the logistics for vaccinating its population.
After 15 years as chancellor, Merkel is doubtlessly tired, and it shows. Sadly, she is now a lame duck, at the very time when one needs an empowered and powerful head of the executive.
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