As Germany has seen demographic change, Merkel remains popular among the baby boomers, the generation born from the time war II ended to the mid-1960s. Thirty years after reunification in 1990, the memories of war II are receding — but the East-West divide continues despite the pumping of cash into the erstwhile East by successive German governments. Unemployment figures are still higher within the new states as compared to the remainder of Germany. And a big percentage of the population (about 10%) thinks that the country should leave the ecu Union.
All these developments have had an impression on the political landscape. the normal two-and-a-half-party system of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Socialist Union (CDU/CSU), SPD, and FDP has changed. The Greens have risen as a serious force, and more recently, the AfD has sought to supply radical solutions, creating a fractured political field. Some analysts link the strengthening of the AfD — which became the third largest party within the German Parliament in 2017 — to the influx of huge numbers of refugees in 2015 following Merkel’s decision to open the country’s doors to them. The AfD’s rise is additionally in line with the trend seen elsewhere in Europe, and therefore the emergence of right governments in Poland and Hungary.
What impact has Germany under Merkel had on Europe and therefore the world?
The financial crisis of 2008 was followed by the Eurozone crisis. Germany paid the most important amount within the EU’s first bailout of Greece in 2010. Merkel’s push for an austerity-based approach to the crisis made her very unpopular in Greece and other European countries battling balancing budgets and pushing a growth agenda In 2015, the refugee crisis swamped Europe, and Merkel pushed to require within the swelling numbers who landed on European shores. Her famous line “Wir schaffen das” — “We can manage this” — drew criticism from far right groups in Germany, also as from her European allies who complained they weren’t consulted. Poland, Hungary, and Austria refused to admit refugees as per the quotas decided by the ecu Union, while Germany took during a million of these who arrived in Europe.
Merkel has been seen because the crisis manager of the EU — a task that was evident in Europe’s Brexit negotiations with the uk . She has also been called the “climate chancellor” for her role in pushing a low-carbon future for Germany and Europe. Although Germany adopted the “Energiewende” transition to a more renewable and sustainable economy, the reinvention of its large industrial economy during a competitive environment has not been easy — three-fourths of Germany’s energy requirements still come from oil, coal, and gas.
At the political level, neither she nor the EU could come up with stronger action against Russia after its annexation of Crimea in 2014 — and Germany subsequently chose to travel ahead with the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline to provide gas to Europe.
After the 2016 US elections that put Donald Trump within the White House, Merkel came to be seen because the new “leader of the free world”. Following the outbreak of Covid-19, Germany led the ecu effort to deal with the impact of the pandemic during a timely manner with solidarity.
In what areas and directions did India’s bilateral relationship with Germany evolve under Merkel?
Since the inauguration of the India-Germany strategic partnership in 2001, relations have grown during a robust manner. India is one among the few countries with which Germany holds Cabinet-level Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC). Five IGC meetings are held so far; they signal growing political engagement and economic partnership that has led to strong institutionalised arrangements to debate bilateral and global issues.
At the fifth IGC held in 2019, that Merkel visited India, the main target was on sustainable growth and a reliable international order. Although trade and investment are at the guts of the bilateral engagement, the IGC has expanded its scope to AI and digital transformation, and pushed forward the ‘Make in India Mittelstand’ programme. the opposite areas of cooperation include science and technology, sustainable energy, smart cities, and circular economies At the political level, India and Germany are at the forefront of the push for UN Security Council reform. At the cultural level, there has been joint investment in education to enable greater people-to-people contact and collaboration in education.
What are the unfinished tasks that India must now take up with Merkel’s successor?
It will be a short time before a stable ruling coalition comes into being and a replacement government takes office in Germany. What assumes priority on the political agenda are going to be decided partially by the character of the coalition. Broadly, however, there’ll be continuity within the previously agreed agenda, and attention on bilateral trade will dominate the economic side of the partnership.
Germany has put out its own strategy for the Indo-Pacific, which has got to be read with the EU’s approach. New Delhi has got to engage Berlin on enhancing this aspect of the equation There is scope to proportion defence cooperation. attention on high-end technology transfers and sustained research and development hubs being created in India, will provide a lift to infrastructure creation and scientific cooperation A major area of cooperation relates to global climate change and building more sustainable energy solutions in India, and offering it to 3rd countries with co-branding Another would be investment in education and fast-tracking high-skilled Indian employment in Germany.