Merkel was known for maintaining diplomatic relations with Putin. During her tenure, Germany strengthened its energy ties with Moscow while keeping national defense spending to a bare minimum.
Her pressure on structural reform and austerity during the eurozone debt crisis, her determination to complete the contentious Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline with Russia, and her acceptance of jointly issued EU debt in anticipation of the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic were some examples of her leadership at the EU level.
However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shifted German politics dramatically.
Former German chancellor Angela Merkel had been billed as the person Germans want to try to persuade President Vladimir Putin out of the conflict, until the final hours before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. However, as Russian bombs rained down on Ukrainian cities, a cloud has descended on Merkel’s 16 years in power, with some analysts questioning whether her detente policies with Putin have left Germany and Europe exposed.
After Russia’s first military operations in Ukraine in late February, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a halt to the Nord Stream 2 gas project that aims to deliver extra gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine and Poland.
Merkel’s major failure was not canceling those commercial ties and energy projects after Russia’s illegal invasion of Crimea in 2014, said Daniela Schwarzer, executive director of the Europe and Eurasia program spearheaded by Open Society Foundations.
Despite objections from Ukraine and other countries, including the United States, Merkel maintained her support for the gas project. Since taking office in December, Scholz has looked cautious in his approach to Nord Stream 2. As tensions with Russia escalated, he halted the pipeline’s certification.
Scholz’s recent willingness to transfer weapons to Ukraine and increase government defense spending marks a significant reversal in German defense policy post-World War II. The policy prohibited the transfer of locally manufactured weapons to combat zones.
However, Merkel’s legacy remains intact in the area of embracing refugees. At the height of a major influx of refugees into Europe, she had announced an open-door policy for those fleeing wars in countries like Syria. This gesture of 2015 will always be remembered. Although a large portion of the estimated 2 million who fled Ukraine have resorted to the nations closest to Ukraine, some have made their way to Germany where people have provided refuge and assistance.
Another portion of Merkel’s legacy, according to Schwarzer, that is still intact is that during Trump’s presidency, she was considered as the de-facto leader of the West, with detractors pointing out that Trump’s presidency weakened America’s influence on the global stage.
According to Schwarzer, Scholz has expanded on the same concept; he says the same things in a “more specific way.” This sense of obligation could be termed as a continuum of Merkel’s legacy.
(Attribution: Kremlin.ru)
