German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently gave an emotional farewell speech to her ruling Christian Democrats (CDU), as she steps down as party leader. She was speaking at a special party conference to elect her successor. She plans to stay Chancellor till 2021. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was her preferred choice in a run-off with millionaire lawyer Friedrich Merz. The former chief minister of Saarland received 450 votes to Mr Merz’s 392 in a first round of votes on Friday.
Who is Angela Merkel?
The Germans elected her to lead them, and she led 80 million Germans for 18 years with competence, skill, dedication, sincerity and humility. During these eighteen years of her leadership, no transgressions were recorded against her. She did not assign any of her relatives any posts. She did not claim that she was the maker of glories: She did not get millions as kickback on contracts, nor did anyone cheer her life. She did not receive charters and pledges; she did not fight those who preceded her or crucify his opponents. The lives of her fellow countrymen and refugees were golden to Merkel as could be seen in her successful management of Covid19 and Refugee Crisis of 2015. She did not utter nonsense. She did not appear in the alleys of Berlin to be photographed.
This is Angela Merkel, the woman who is dubbed “The Lady of the World” and was described as the equivalent of six million men. Yesterday, Merkel left the party leadership position and handed it over to those after her, and Germany and its German people are in the best condition. The reaction of the Germans was unprecedented in the history of the Germans. The whole people went out to their balconies and clapped for her spontaneously for six continuous minutes of warm applause, without colours, tam-tam and impudence. Contrary to our Arab and African reality, there was no praise, hypocrisy, representation and drumming and no one shouted Merkel and Bass.
Germany stood as one body bidding farewell to the leader of Germany, doctor of Chemical Physics with a priestly and experience of socialist ex-DDR, she is not tempted by fashion nor the show lights. She did not buy real estate, cars, yachts and private planes, knowing that she is from former East Germany. She left her post but left Germany at the top while her relatives and did not repeat (We are the elders of the country). Eighteen years long, she did not change her old clothes. May God bless this silent leader. May God bless the greatness of Germany.
At a press conference, a female journalist asked Merkel: We notice that your suit is repeated, don’t you have another? She replied: I am a government employee and not a model. At another press conference, they asked her: Do you have housemaids who clean the house, prepare meals and so on? Her answer was: No, I do not have female workers, and I do not need them. My husband and I do this work at home every day.
Then another journalist asked: Who washes the clothes, you or your husband? Her answer: I arrange the clothes, and my husband is the one who operates the washing machine, and it is usually at night, because electricity is available and there is no pressure on it, and the most important thing is to take into consideration the neighbours convenience and the wall separating our apartment from our neighbours is thick. She said: I expected you to ask me about the successes and failures in the government.
Mrs Merkel lives in a typical apartment like any other citizen. She has been in this apartment before being elected Prime Minister of Germany, and she still lives there with her husband. She does not own a villa, servants, swimming pools and gardens. This is Merkel, the Prime Minister of Germany, the largest economy in Europe!!