Don't the Germans want change?

The opinion polls and news reports leave no doubt: Angela Merkel and the sister parties CDU-CSU are set to win Sunday's general elections to the German Bundestag. The fact that after twelve years of Merkel as chancellor there's still no sign of a change surprises some journalists, who accuse her of serious mistakes. Others believe a fourth term for Merkel will make the entire European Union more stable.

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Frankfurter Rundschau (DE) /

No mention of Europe

The Frankfurter Rundschau criticises Merkel for her lukewarm defence of Europe:

“More than any chancellor before her she has benefited from the advantages of the EU, which offers the German export economy such a lucrative market. Her party has criticised the ECB's low-interest policy like no other, while her government has benefited from it like no other. Has the chancellor ever taken the time to explain that to the people? Has she done anything to counter the myth that Germany does all the donkey work in the EU, whereas its citizens are in fact its biggest beneficiaries? Certainly, she's never said anything expressly anti-European. And showing enthusiasm isn't exactly her thing. Nevertheless she hasn't done anything to make the European narrative any more understandable - or interesting.”

The Guardian (GB) /

The lobbyists' chancellor

Columnist George Monbiot has harsh words in the Guardian for the way the chancellor dealt with the diesel scandal:

“Merkel has a fatal weakness: a weakness for the lobbying power of German industry. Whenever a crucial issue needs to be resolved, she weighs her ethics against political advantage, and chooses the advantage. This, in large part, is why Europe now chokes in a fug of diesel fumes. ... The 'mistake' made by the diesel manufacturers, she insists, 'doesn't give us the right to deprive the entire industry of its future'. Instead, her policy deprives thousands of people of their lives.”

Jutarnji list (HR) /

Germany and the EU doing well

For Jutarnji list a victory for Merkel would be good news:

“It is almost certain that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom the respected historian Timothy Garton Ash described as the 'leader of the free world' after Trump's victory in the US, will remain in power after the election. For Germany and the EU, things are going better than they have done for a long time. Germany has a trade surplus of 300 billion [dollars] and a very low unemployment rate while in the EU none of the member states are in a recession, new jobs are being created and faith in the Union is growing.”

Mandiner (HU) /

Mainstream discourse worsens democratic deficit

Those who want to get rid of Merkel must vote for the radical parties, journalist Zoltán Szalai explains on opinion portal Mandiner:

“Merkel has recently made it clear that she will only cooperate with the SPD, the FDP and the Greens after the election. So those who want rid of her must either vote for the post-communist and openly Marxist Left Party or the partially far right AfD. ... All the mainstream parties are practically identical, as the TV debate between Merkel and Schulz made glaringly obvious. Then there's the crass self-censorship of the leading media. And there are other symptoms of a crisis in German democracy: the covering up of the violence in Cologne, the taboos in political talk shows that dominate public debate, the blurring of the lines between the CDU and SPD voter bases, and so on.”

T24 (TR) /

What the voters really want is new faces

German politics needs new faces, T24 stresses:

“While the world is experiencing a digital revolution the population of Germany is getting older and older. Elsewhere politicians with innovative ideas are taking the stage, like Justin Trudeau in Canada and Emmanuel Macron in France and even Sebastian Kurz in Austria, but Germany can't find an alternative to Merkel. There was a euphoric mood in the political arena when the SPD announced Martin Schulz as its candidate for chancellor back in January. But sadly that euphoria didn't last long because the Social Democrats announced an innovative policy but didn't fill it out with content. The first reactions to Schulz simply showed how thirsty German voters are for something new.”

Corriere della Sera (IT) /

Merkel could never hold her own in Italy

Angela Merkel wouldn't stand a chance of becoming prime minister in Italy, Corriere della Sera notes:

“Everything that makes her shine in Germany, leaving her without rivals would be her downfall here. Her rhetoric, for example. Plain, drab even, it would never stand up to the testosterone-driven, aggressive talk of our loudmouths. Her tendency to favour compromise would come across as an inability to make decisions. What's more, she's led coalitions for the past twelve years. Such governments are disdained here because they lead to political instability. Nevertheless Angela does share one quality with Italian politicians: she knows how to steal her opponents' issues. After Fukushima she announced that nuclear power would be phased out, leaving the Green Party high and dry. And she pushed through the introduction of gay marriage even though she herself opposed it.”