Merkel Says Auf Wiedersehen to a Diminished Europe

When Angela Merkel barely scraped her way into business office as Germany’s chancellor in 2005, Europe’s greatest economic climate was stalled, with unemployment at a postwar superior and Germans fearful that their industrial powerhouse was fading amid increasing worldwide competitiveness.

Ms. Merkel pledged to restore German delight and to undertake the distressing modifications required by globalization, even though decrying her nation’s current caution. “We absence the braveness to consider even the smallest stage unless we can work out its impact into the smallest element,” Ms. Merkel lamented at the time. “Germany must prevent remaining articles with remaining mediocre.” A more dynamic Germany, she said, would in turn revitalize the European Union, which was shedding sway to mounting powers in Asia and somewhere else.