GLOBAL MATTERS
Global
BY FIONA WAKELIN
Matters
refugees fleeing Syria, Iraq and
Her tenacity has paid off with
and Mediterranean seas, with
in Germany increasing in 2020
Afghanistan across the Aegean thousands losing their lives on the way. Under her guidance,
Germany famously adopted an
“open-border” policy. This extensive
After 16 years in public office,
Angela Merkel is stepping down
as German Chancellor. And what
historic events she has witnessed, with seismic shifts happening not only in Europe, but around the
world – from the 2008 financial meltdown to Covid in 2020.
Not only was she at the helm
in Germany during the global
meltdown, but she was key in the response to the Eurozone debt
crisis which could have led to the economic collapse of Greece,
Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Cyprus. In 2015, she was faced with
making policy decision around
the influx of more than a million
and, for the first time, overtaking
generation from coal, natural gas, and oil in the country.
support for refugees was “both a
On her watch, the scar of the Iron
and an example of economic
from West has now become a
remarkable humanitarian gesture,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel to step down later this year
renewable power production
pragmatism. Complex, costly, and controversial up front, integration efforts have already had some positive short term economic
impact. More importantly, they
may emerge as part of a much-
needed solution to the long term
economic challenges posed by a rapidly aging native population.” – WENR
Merkel is an ambassador for green economies and she more than earned her nickname “Climate
Curtain which had divided East green belt, home to more than
600 rare and endangered species of birds, mammals, plants and
insects. In 2018, Merkel was elected for a fourth term in office, but with the loss of a number of votes her
party formed a collation and she decided she would not run for a
fifth term. Now that she is stepping down, her party has a new leader — Armin Laschet who will lead the
Christian Democratic Union in the September polls.
Chancellor” for her long-standing
After the UK’s exit from the EU, the
emissions cuts. Her last Council of
bloc – this has been exacerbated
international promotion of carbon the European Union presidency forged consensus among EU member states on a more
ambitious 2030 climate target and a pandemic stimulus programme that promises a green recovery.
68 | Public Sector Leaders • March 2021
European Union remains a divided by varied responses of different leaders to the Covid outbreak. However, Merkel’s handling of
the pandemic entrenched her
reputation as a pragmatic leader, whose shoes will be hard to fill.
