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Angela Merkel has managed to unify Germany during the coronavirus crisis, but her response is proving far more divisive at the European Union level.

The big picture: Merkel returned from self-quarantine to the chancellery this week, and her steady, trusted leadership has some wishing she'd stay there forever. However, some of Merkel's EU colleagues consider her a roadblock to Europe's long-term health.

Although Germany has not reached the peak of its pandemic curve, the country has been recognized for its decisive action.

Germany is testing approximately 500,000 people per week, far more than other European countries, while boosting its supply of ICU beds and ventilators. Government guidance on social distancing has been widely followed.

The government also worked efficiently to pass a 1.1 trillion euro spending package last month to stabilize the economy. Liquidity for big companies and direct assistance to freelancers flowed fast without much red tape.

Germans find comfort in Merkel’s characteristic straightforwardness, mixed now with empathy (in a recent podcast episode, Merkel noted how isolating it could be to be connected to the world solely through the telephone or internet).

Even after 15 years in office, 64% of Germans view their chancellor favorably.

The flipside: Within the EU, Merkel and her government are being cast in a different light. 

EU members want to see more financial solidarity in the face of what could be a crippling economic downturn. 

Germany has resisted the collectivization of debt through "coronabonds," reprising its position during the eurozone debt crisis.

Germany instead wants to tap the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), but hard-hit countries like Italy and Spain don't want the stigma of borrowing money under strict conditions, even if they are eased for corona-related relief.

Between the lines: Berlin has long feared getting stuck with the bill for EU partners' spending. Those partners contend that Germany has profited from the EU single market, with the euro boosting its exports, while not doing enough to ensure its stability in times of crisis.

What’s next: EU finance ministers are huddled in Brussels, trying to find a compromise. In the meantime, Germany has started to take in patients from overwhelmed hospitals in France and Italy. That will earn some goodwill, though it could dry up quickly.

Sudha David-Wilp is a senior transatlantic fellow and deputy director of the German Marshall Fund’s Berlin office.

Merkel's coronavirus response unifies Germans but divides EU

It's classic Merkel: steady leader, cautious lender

Merkel performs a delicate dance in Brussels. Photo: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

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Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel has managed to unify Germany during the coronavirus crisis, but her response is proving far more divisive at the European Union level.The big picture: Merkel returned from self-quarantine to the chancellery this week, and her steady, trusted leadership has some wishing she&#x27;d stay there forever. However, some of Merkel&#x27;s EU colleagues consider her a roadblock to Europe&#x27;s long-term health.

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

Saturday marks 30 years since the Berlin Wall came down, but even decades after reunification, more than half of former East Germans feel like second-class citizens and are increasingly expressing their frustrations at the ballot box.

Why it matters: The legacy of 1989 is the power of citizens to bring about change, but today faith in democracy is falling. Although Chancellor Angela Merkel is from the former east, voters there are rejecting mainstream political parties and turning in greater numbers to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

The big picture: The wall is not missed, and its demise was undoubtedly a geopolitical success for the West as it ushered in the post-Cold War period. Democracy had prevailed against communism in a peaceful revolution of "We are the people" protests — a motto that later turned into "We are one people."

Where it stands: The Berlin Wall has now been down longer than it was up, yet the five states in the former German Democratic Republic are still playing catch-up. Approximately $2 trillion in regional investment has given a face-lift to cities previously behind the Iron Curtain but disparities persist.

Wages are approximately 15% lower, and retirees receive lower pension amounts.

Corporate headquarters are scarce, and less than 10% of those who hail from the east are in leadership positions in sectors throughout Germany.

A brain drain has left much of the east bereft of young people, especially young women. According to Zeit Online, nearly a quarter of East Germany’s original population has left since reunification.

The impact: The AfD is now present in all of Germany’s 16 state legislatures but has found its stronghold in the former east.

The xenophobic party, whose leaders have relativized the Holocaust, racked up roughly a quarter of the vote during recent state elections in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia.

Just last week, the city council of Dresden declared a "Nazi state of emergency."

The bottom line: On the surface it may seem difficult to differentiate Germans once tagged as either Wessis or Ossis, but differences remain. The former east's far-right swing could now make it harder to spur the political and financial changes needed to close the gap.

Germany's east still catching up 30 years after fall of Berlin Wall

Wages and business activity lag and nearly a quarter of the original population has left.

video projection onto Berlin wall with glow reflected in the Spree river

A video installation projected onto the Berlin Wall's East Side Gallery. Photo: Annette Riedl/picture alliance via Getty Images

Germany

Expert Voices

Saturday marks 30 years since the Berlin Wall came down, but even decades after reunification, more than half of former East Germans <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="feel like second-class citizens" data-vars-click-url="https://www.dw.com/en/former-east-germany-still-lags-behind-west/a-50583236" data-vars-content-id="6bde142c-ffef-465d-99e0-02dc3f7e800d" data-vars-headline="Germany&#x27;s east still catching up 30 years after fall of Berlin Wall" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.dw.com/en/former-east-germany-still-lags-behind-west/a-50583236" target="_blank">feel like second-class citizens</a> and are increasingly expressing their frustrations at the ballot box.Why it matters: The legacy of 1989 is the power of citizens to bring about change, but today faith in democracy is falling. Although Chancellor Angela Merkel is from the former east, voters there are rejecting mainstream political parties and turning in greater numbers to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

The results of two state elections in the former East Germany on Sunday cast a troublesome picture for the region — confirming fatigue with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Grand Coalition government in Berlin and signaling further political fragmentation.

The big picture: Both major parties — the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) — lost voters but managed to hold the line against the far-right, xenophobic Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. They will now seek to form a majority and build a coalition with parties other than the AfD, making the right-wing populists the largest opposition party in Brandenburg and Saxony.

Details: Since German reunification in 1990, the CDU has led the state of Saxony while the SPD has reigned in Brandenburg. Each party eked out a victory in its respective stronghold, of 32% and 26%, thanks to strong retail politicking by local candidates.

Yes, but: The AfD came in a close second, with almost a third of the vote in Saxony and close to a quarter in Brandenburg. 

Where it stands: The AfD's ascendance is bringing together unexpected political bedfellows.

Brandenburg and Saxony will likely cobble together 3-party governments, as is now the case in nearly a third of Germany’s federal states.

When Merkel's government comes to an end in 2021, Berlin might have to make room for 3 parties in the next Cabinet.

Between the lines: The AfD was on the wane until the 2015 migration crisis paved its way into the federal Parliament in 2017 with 12.6% of the vote. It has hit a ceiling of 14% nationwide, but Sunday’s strong results show the AfD to be a major party in the former East.

Most AfD voters view the party as a channel for protest. Pre-election polls show that 59% of voters in Brandenburg and 66% in Saxony feel like second-class citizens.

The AfD has not only pulled in CDU and SPD voters but also mobilized non-voters. Close to 40% of this weekend's AfD voters stayed home 5 years ago. 

The LEFT party, tied to the former communists in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), used to be the protest party for disaffected voters in the East, but lost approximately 8 percentage points in each state.

State elections in Germany offer limited relief for Berlin

Major parties prevailed, but the far-right AfD came in a close second.

Brandeburg State Secretary for the Interior and Local Government Katrin Lange (SPD) and CDU Brandenburg State Chairman Ingo Senftleben leave exploratory coalition talks. Photo: Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images

The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="results" data-vars-click-url="https://hosted.ap.org/clevelandbanner/article/b8af4300b9c043c7bd596a918d5f2b07/2-eastern-german-states-hold-elections-far-right-eyes-gains" data-vars-content-id="b12b13ca-9449-4a86-ae39-5c2a3f10043d" data-vars-headline="State elections in Germany offer limited relief for Berlin" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://hosted.ap.org/clevelandbanner/article/b8af4300b9c043c7bd596a918d5f2b07/2-eastern-german-states-hold-elections-far-right-eyes-gains" target="_blank">results</a> of two state elections in the former East Germany on Sunday cast a troublesome picture for the region — confirming fatigue with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Grand Coalition government in Berlin and signaling further political fragmentation.The big picture: Both major parties — the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) — lost voters but managed to hold the line against the far-right, xenophobic Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. They will now seek to form a majority and build a coalition with parties other than the AfD, making the right-wing populists the largest opposition party in Brandenburg and Saxony.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer’s resignation as chair of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was abrupt, but her fall as Angela Merkel’s heir apparent was inevitable.

Why it matters: The CDU has been longing for a different chancellor candidate throughout the short and bumpy tenure of Kramp-Karrenbauer, known as AKK, because of her blunders and the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Now it can cut its losses and prepare for the 2021 election. 

Driving the news: AKK couldn’t seem to control CDU lawmakers in the former East German state of Thuringia, who broke a taboo by cooperating with the AfD to form a government. 

Merkel felt the need to make a statement during an official visit to South Africa — she called the pact "unforgivable" — undermining AKK’s role as party leader and preceding her resignation back in Berlin.

The backstory: Before following in Merkel’s footsteps by being elected CDU chair in 2018, AKK was Minister President of the small state of Saarland for nearly seven years.

That wasn’t enough for the national stage, as became apparent when she made light of gender-neutral bathrooms and thought out loud about military intervention in Libya or abandoning Strasbourg as the seat of the EU Parliament.

The CDU has had a downward trend at the polls during AKK’s stint as party leader. It took a bruising during state elections in the former East Germany last fall and had a historically poor performance during EU parliamentary elections last May. 

AKK couldn't escape Merkel's shadow. An Insa poll last month had Merkel topping the list of Germany’s most popular politicians, even after 14 years as chancellor, while AKK couldn’t break the top ten. 

The big picture: Winning is more important to the CDU than loyalty. The center-right party has been losing votes on the right to the AfD and on the left to the Greens.

Some conservatives are relieved to have an opportunity to pick a leader who can fend off the AfD, which is now the largest opposition party in parliament and has seats in all 16 state legislatures.

The emergence of a strong party to the right of the CDU, something legendary Bavarian political boss Franz Josef Strauss warned against, has created a conundrum. The CDU must decide whether to continue on Merkel’s centrist course or to tack right. 

The left of the German political spectrum is just as fragmented. With six parties on the ballot in 2021 it will be a challenge to build a viable governing coalition, as the recent experience in Thuringia showed.

What to watch: Europe's biggest economic power will be preoccupied by domestic politics until it determines who will follow Merkel as chancellor.

That could be answered sooner rather than later. The next CDU chair might consider AKK’s experience and judge that the party can’t afford to have both a chancellor and a chancellor-in-waiting. 

Go deeper: Putting Merkel's remarkable longevity in perspective

Angela Merkel needs a new heir

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is out. So what comes next?

On to the next one. Merkel (R) with Kramp-Karrenbauer. Photo: Gregor Fischer/picture alliance via Getty Images

German elections: Feud on center-right could help Greens succeed Merkel

Annalena Baerbock is the nominee for Germany's surging Greens.

Annelena Baerbock. Photo: Andreas Gora - Pool/Getty Images

Germany’s leading political parties convened to nominate their candidates for chancellor on Monday, but while a bitter fight was raging in the conservative camp the Greens displayed no such drama in picking Annalena Baerbock.Why it matters: With Angela Merkel set to step down after 16 years following September&#x27;s elections, there&#x27;s a growing chance Germany’s next chancellor will again be female but this time Green.

Sudha David-Wilp

Stories

German elections: Feud on center-right could help Greens succeed Merkel

Merkel's coronavirus response unifies Germans but divides EU

Angela Merkel needs a new heir

Germany's east still catching up 30 years after fall of Berlin Wall

State elections in Germany offer limited relief for Berlin