安吉拉·默克尔执政十周年

 

It is her welcoming stance towards this year's influx⁴ of refugees that has brought her the most international acclaim⁵, as well as intense criticism in Germany.

 

Angela Merkel took over Germany's top office from Gerhard Schroeder in 2005. She was the first woman to hold the office as well as the first chancellor to have come from the former communist East Germany. When she took over, Germany was in a very different place. Over 5 million people were out of work and many wondered whether Europe's largest economy was headed in the wrong direction.

 

However, 10 years later, the unemployment rate is half of what it was, and the country is the unquestioned economic and political leader of the European Union. Over the past two years, Merkel has been Europe's key player in trying to broker⁶ peace in Ukraine. She also was a central figure in negotiating a controversial third bailout with the Greek government, which allowed that country to stay in the Eurozone.

 

But perhaps her signature moment of the past 10 years was opening Germany's borders to all those fleeing Syria who have arrived in Germany seeking asylum⁷. At a recent congress of her center right party, she spoke⁸ of the importance of addressing the root causes of migration⁹ and working closely with other countries like Turkey.

 

"Dear friends, in this way, we can reduce the number of asylum seekers. Not by unilaterally imposing¹⁰ an upper limit nationally on the number of refugees. THAT is in everyone's interest."