The contrast could not be bigger: Friedrich MerzHe had to wait 20 years before after the third attempt he managed to gain the highest position in the party. She ruled continuously for 16 years and is still the only chancellor to this day who voluntarily gave up power.
All her predecessors were forced to resign. Konrad Adenauer and Ludwig Erhard had to do it under pressure. Kurt Georg Kiesinger lost the election. Willy BrandtHe resigned after the spy scandal. Helmut Schmidt was overthrown by a free democratic party (FDP). Helmut Kohl, Gerhard Schroeder and Olaf Scholz suffered election defeats – the latter with a big bang.
Merkel on the battlefield is insurmountable – this is the basis of her “posthumous” fame, and her voice matters to this day. This can be seen, among others, by the fact that the events in which he participate resemble a kind of services. Regardless of whether he talks to Anne Will at Deutsches Theater in Berlin, with Alexander Osang in Berliner Ensemble, or recently with Markus Feldenkirchen in Admiralspalast: The audience reacts to her conversations with journalists with a joyful giggle. They consider her a woman whose sacraments are based on a passion for deceit. The most dangerous opponent of Friedrich Merz is not vice -channel Lars Klingbeil or a deputy to the Bundestag Alice Weidel, but Merkel. Like the castle spirit, the corridors of the Berlin Republic haunted.
He can sense her, but he can't reach her. Merkel has no power, but he has an aura – an aura of the invincible.
What Merkel is currently talking about is mainly directed against her successor Friedrich Merz, who She is never able to satisfy her.
Angela Merkel gives an interview to Markus Feldenkirchen in Berlin Admiralspalast, September 24, 2025.Der Spiegel / YouTube
Lately,October 3 in Saarbrucken,Germany solemnly celebrated the Day of Unity. According to Merkel, Merz committed a blunder. She did not like the list of speakers because the western elite pinned the feathers of the East Revolution. Many thought so, but she said it aloud:
– Although I value the president very much [Francji Emmanuela] Macron, perhaps, on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of Germany, it would be a better idea to invite someone from Eastern Europe or Eastern Germany.
He believes that his strategy of postponing the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to the right to limit the field of alternative maneuver for Germany (AfD) is a terrible mistake. She doesn't want to complain – she wants to rebel herself. In an interview with refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iran, broadcast by WDR says:
“I can't only talk about AfD and accept her program.” I also have to accept the program of all those who say: yes, we must reduce the number of illegal migration, but still represent our values.
In an interview with Markus Feldenkirchen for the magazine “Der Spiegel” he adds: Changing the course cannot be done “at the expense of resignation of its own values”.
In terms of policy towards refugees after almost four years of political abstinence, there was a dispute between them for the first time. Merz, with the help of AFD, tried to push the exacerbation of asylum policy in the Bundestag, including closing borders for people without valid entry documents. Then Merkel spoke almost quickly. In a written message, she reminded Merz of his oath of restraint:
“Under my leadership there will be no cooperation between CDU and AFD” – these were Merz's words during the election campaign.
The fact that Merz, shortly after the attack of a cutter from Aschaffenburg and just before the Bundestag election, still made his attempt, caused her an immediate reaction:
– I think that the decision to break with a given promise is a mistake. It can also lead toConscious contributing to the majority of AFD votes for the first time in the history of the German Bundestag.
However, Merz, as usual, was unlucky, so Merkel's announcement never came to fruition. She triumphed, and her fractional supporters sentenced Merz to defeat.
Continued article under video material
Specter strategy: like Merkel still arranges German politics
Merkel clearly enjoys disrupting his successor's plans. Who knows her knows: she doesn't work under the influence of emotions. Her strategic response to the strengthening of AfD and the fall of social democracy is the Black and Green Coalition [CDU i Zieloni]even if it currently has no chance at a federal level, but only in Baden-Württemberg, Schleswik-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Merz has never been her choice – neither the first nor the last one. Her favorites are Armin Laschet and Hendrik Wust. The first of them could become a federal president, the second chancellor. They are both people of moderation and balance who They stand out what Merz never had: ability to make contact with the green bourgeoisie.
Conclusion: Merkel troops, from the CDU in North Rhine-Westphalia, through the Evangelical Church, to the social committees of CDU, and from there to the Union of Women, Seniors and Climate, are ready to act. However, Merkel still has something that many today's politicians are no longer there: strategic peace. Or, as Lew Tolstoy put it:
The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
