As the Angela Merkel era ends what legacy does she leave
Over the past 16 years, presidents and prime ministers have come and gone, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel has remained in power. Often the only woman in the room and frequently the voice of reason.
But once Germanyâs post-election coalition talks conclude, the Merkel era will end.
The outsiderA pastorâs daughter raised in East Germany, Merkel obtained a doctorate in quantum chemistry and worked as a research scientist.
After the fall of the Berlin wall, her political career began.
Despite first winning a seat in the Bundestag in 1990, she still considers herself a political outsider.
Angela Merkel-Kasner, circled, at a mathematics olympiad in 1971. Source: AFP/Getty Images
âSheâs not so much interested in the external glamour of power and thatâs a big advantage, of course,â says her biographer Ralph Bollman.
âShe doesnât look for success in the short-term, but success in the long run.â
Thatâs not to say she doesnât play political games. You have to - if youâre to serve four terms as chancellor.â
âSheâs very patient, thatâs the thing she learned in communism. She can wait until her enemies destroy themselves.â
The migration decisionFor many Germans, the key moment of Merkelâs time in office was her decision to accept almost one million migrants at the height of the 2015 refugee crisis.
Despite facing significant criticism, she famously told the nation âweâll manage thisâ. It became a slogan for the national effort to help accommodate those arriving from war-torn Syria.
Children in Wismar, Germany, await a campaign visit from Angela Merkel in 2017. Source: Getty Images
âIf we now start having to apologise even for showing a friendly face in emergency situations, then this is not my country,â she said at the time.
Khaled Kaiyali fled Syria at the end of 2015, making the dangerous journey through the Balkans and finally reaching Germany.
Now settled in Berlin, he earned a masterâs degree and is working on humanitarian efforts to assist other refugees.
Khaled Kaiyali fled Syria at the end of 2015. Source: Ben Lewis/SBS News
âAngela Merkel opened the borders for refugees. It was a courageous decision,â he tells SBS News.
âGiving each one of us a chance to start a new life, it is something I really appreciate.â
Merkelâs compassionate decision fuelled a rise in support for the populist right, propelling the Alternative for Germany party into the political mainstream.
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âThe fact that the AFD came into being at all has essentially to do with Angela Merkel's politics. You could say she was a kind of obstetrician,â says Heike Hanefeld, an AFD candidate in Berlin.
âPeople came into the country uncontrolled. To put it bluntly, Angela Merkel brought Germany to the brink.â
'The Queen of Europe'Merkelâs departure may be felt more deeply in Brussels than Berlin.
She will leave a void at the European Union, where her interventions were often pivotal during crises.
With Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in July. Source: AFP/Getty Images
âAngela Merkel was that person who managed to build consensus, to get all EU countries to agree to a particular position,â says Georgina Wright, head of the Europe Programme at think tank the Institut Montaigne.
âShe was that person who was able to - through her relationships, through her experience - bring countries together.â
Given Germanyâs economic might, Merkelâs successor will still play a pivotal role in European politics.
But French President Emmanuel Macron has long positioned himself as the heir to her title as the unofficial leader of Europe.
The Merkel legacyItâs often said that German voters value stability above all else. That might explain why after 16 years in office, Merkelâs personal approval rating remains significantly higher than any of the candidates hoping to replace her.
Her appeal crosses the usual political boundaries.
When she announced her plans to retire, a âMerkel Must Stayâ petition went viral.
With her husband Joachim Sauer, left, and then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Cecilia in 2007. Source: AFP/Getty Images
âIâm not your typical conservative voter, but she has some traits I find very appealing in a leader,â says Tina Skulima, the petitionâs creator.
âShe has this style; sheâs so calm, sheâs intelligent and sheâs a scientist. She does things her own way, using her analytical style.â
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Even those who are seeking to force Merkelâs conservative CDU party into opposition have respect for her time as leader of Germany.
Ana-Maria Trasnea is a candidate for the centre-left SDP.
âShe governed the state in a stable way,â she says.
âFrom a gender perspective, I think itâs important that Angela Merkel made it so normal to be a woman in power.â
Angela Merkel was often the only woman in the room, pictured here at a G8 meeting in 2007. Source: Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
But while Merkel has steered Germany through multiple crises, she has faced some criticism for not having a bolder vision of the countryâs future.
âI think itâs not that weâve not seen change in this country, but it has often been reactive change,â says Dr Swen Hutter, a political analyst at Berlinâs Free University.
âI mean, she survived all these crises, but Iâm not sure how weâll remember her legacy in two decades.â
Angela Merkel addresses the last rally of the CDU and its sister party the CSU in Munich last month. Source: AFP/Getty Images
Yet her biographer thinks history will be kind, given the increasingly polarised nature of politics across the globe.
âIn these struggles of the future to come, many people will think those 16 years of Angela Merkel have been the age of stability, wealth a good life,â Bollman says.
Merkel herself seems content for others to determine her legacy.
Asked about her plans for the future, all she would say is that she needs to take a nap.
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