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Angela Merkel leaves German chancellery after 16 years

German Chancellor Angela Merkel formally handed over power to her successor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday, leaving her office in central Berlin by motorcade.

Published: 8 December 2021 16:08 CET

Angela Merkel receives flowers from new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

With the same stoicism that had marked Angela Merkel’s 16 years in office, the outgoing German chancellor left power behind on Wednesday, looking straight ahead as the Audi car she was in drove out of the chancellery.

Merkel accompanied key moments of a highly symbolic day when Scholz and his coalition of SPD, Greens and the liberal FDP officially took power.

Dressed in her signature blazer-trouser set, this time in deep blue, she was seated up in the public stands next to former president Joachim Gauck as Scholz was formally elected by parliament.

The Bundestag lower house opened the day with a two-minute standing ovation for her, something that she acknowledged standing and waving.

As she climbed into her car at the end of the ceremony in the chancellor, it was also to applause from her staff.

A handful of people had gathered outside the gates, hoping to catch a glimpse of the veteran leader who was once the world’s most powerful woman.

“I came to see Merkel for a last time,” said Enrique Velazco, 30. “She stood for stability for the world, including Europe and Germany. I like her because she is pragmatic, I’m a little sad today.”

But Merkel herself did not shed a tear, at least publicly.

And little else betrayed her emotions, something that the mask that she was obliged to wear under coronavirus rules perhaps helped to hide

‘Highly motivated’

During the handover of the Chancellory on Wednesday, Merkel gave a short speech and urged Scholz to work in the country’s best interest as she came to the end of 16 years in office.

“I know you are starting work highly motivated,” she told Scholz at her chancellery in Berlin, adding: “take this office and work in the best interest of our country – that is my wish.”

Merkel said she knew from her own experience that it was a moving moment to be elected to office in Germany.

“As you perhaps can imagine it’s an exciting, fulfilling job – and a demanding one,” said Merkel. “But if you approach it with enthusiasm then it is perhaps one of the most wonderful jobs there is – to bear responsibility for this country.”

Scholz thanked his predecessor for her service as Chancellor to Germany.

During her time in office, Merkel had to deal with many crises, said Scholz – some of which they had overcome together.

“That brought us together,” Scholz said, adding that there has always been trust and cooperation between them.

Scholz also thanked the people of Germany – and the Bundestag – for giving him the “mandate” to become chancellor.

The changeover marked the end of 16 years of Merkel in the top job in German politics. She announced in October 2018 that she intended to step down after her term ended.

Angela Merkel’s 16 years in power in one image pic.twitter.com/SF8rVyo9yC

— Thomas Sparrow (@Thomas_Sparrow) December 8, 2021

‘Take a little nap’ –

Merkel herself was sworn in on November 22nd, 2005, then taking over from Gerhard Schröder of the centre-left SPD and putting her conservative CDU-CSU bloc in charge.

This time, the power transfer went the other way, though both sides had so often stressed “continuity” that one could be forgiven for thinking they were from the same political families.

The first chancellor not to seek reelection of her own accord, Merkel walks away from politics after three decades as an MP.

Her popularity remains intact and observers believe the 67-year-old could have won a fifth term had she sought it.

She has offered few clues on what she might do in her retirement, saying only in a trip to Washington this year that “maybe I’ll try to read something, then my eyes will start to close because I’m tired, so I’ll take a little nap, and then we’ll see where I show up”.

However, she did reveal on Tuesday that she would in the future be based from the former office of Margot Honecker — the wife of East Germany’s longtime leader and the communist state’s education minister, just steps away from the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag.

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Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.

The slightly rosier picture comes after improvements in key indicators — from factory output to business activity — boosted hopes a recovery may be getting under way.

The German economy shrank slightly last year, hit by soaring inflation, a manufacturing slowdown and weakness in trading partners, and has acted as a major drag on the 20-nation eurozone.

But releasing its latest projections, the economy ministry said in a statement there were growing indications of a “turning point”.

“Signs of an economic upturn have increased significantly, especially in recent weeks,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference.

The ministry also cut its forecast for inflation this year to 2.4 percent, from a previous prediction of 2.8 percent, and sees the figure falling below two percent next year.

“The fall in inflation will lead to consumer demand — people have more money in their wallets again, and will spend this money,” said Habeck.

“So purchasing power is increasing, real wages are rising and this will contribute to a domestic economic recovery.”

Energy prices — which surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — had also fallen and supply chain woes had eased, he added.

Several months ago there had been expectations of a strong rebound in 2024, with forecasts of growth above one percent, but these were dialled back at the start of the year as the economy continued to languish.

‘Germany has fallen behind’

But improving signs have fuelled hopes the lumbering economy — while not about to break into a sprint — may at least be getting back on its feet.

On Wednesday a closely-watched survey from the Ifo institute showed business sentiment rising for a third consecutive month in April, and more strongly than expected.

A key purchasing managers’ index survey this week showed that business activity in Germany had picked up.

And last week the central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast the economy would expand slightly in the first quarter, dodging a recession, after earlier predicting a contraction.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presents the latest economic forecasts at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, April 24th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Despite the economy’s improving prospects, growth of 0.3 percent is still slower than other developed economies and below past rates, and officials fret it is unlikely to pick up fast in the years ahead.

Habeck has repeatedly stressed solutions are needed for deep-rooted problems facing Germany, from an ageing population to labour shortages and a transition towards greener industries that is moving too slowly.

“Germany has fallen behind other countries in terms of competitiveness,” he said. “We still have a lot to do — we have to roll up our sleeves.”

Already facing turbulence from pandemic-related supply chain woes, the German economy’s problems deepened dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine and slashed supplies of gas, hitting the country’s crucial manufacturers hard.

While the energy shock has faded, continued weakness in trading partners such as China, widespread strikes in recent months and higher eurozone interest rates have all prolonged the pain.

The European Central Bank has signalled it could start cutting borrowing costs in June, which would boost the eurozone.

But Habeck stressed that care was still needed as, despite the expectations of imminent easing, “tight monetary policy has not yet been lifted.”

In addition, disagreements in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition are hindering efforts to reignite growth, critics say.

This week the pro-business FDP party, a coalition partner, faced an angry backlash from Scholz’s SPD when it presented a 12-point plan for an “economic turnaround”, including deep cuts to state benefits.

Christian Lindner, the fiscally hawkish FDP finance minister, welcomed signs of “stabilisation” in the economic forecasts but stressed that projected medium-term growth was “too low to sustainably finance our state”.

“There are no arguments for postponing the economic turnaround,” he added.