But it’s safe to say that, a year from now, Germany’s chancellor will not be called Angela Merkel. The disruption candidate Friedrich Merz, a millionaire businessman and Merkel rival, wants to shift focus back to its neglected centre-right, liberal roots. But the party’s popularity is linked inextricably to Merkel, who enjoys a remarkable 74 per cent satisfaction rating among voters. Many who vote CDU do so because of her, not the party, and many have yet to process her departure emotionally – or decide how they will vote without her. Given all the uncertainty hanging over the new year, however, the last thing Europe needed this Christmas was a question mark where the continent’s most powerful party leader should be.

Source: The Irish Times December 22, 2020 17:48 UTC