“Merkel may be leading, but who’s following?”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel might enjoy global respect as “leader of the free world” but her current standing also warranted “a more nuanced assessment” of what her country “has done and can do”, Michael Bröning writes in an opinion piece for Politico Europe. Merkel’s strategy for dealing with the Euro crisis deepened rifts in Europe and her “u-turn” on immigration and refugees “cast a large question mark over the celebrated example of German moral leadership", Bröning argues. The same was true for her “acclaim as ‘climate Chancellor’", he says. Merkel’s push for climate protection at the G20 demonstrated her leadership skills but “the fact is that there has been virtually no reduction in German CO2 emissions since 2009".

Read the article in English here.

See the CLEW factsheets The story of “Climate Chancellor” Angela Merkel and Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions and climate targets for more information.