Angela Merkel made her first major TV appearance since she left office in a good mood. She also spoke about personal issues.
Angela Merkel (67) was Chancellor of Germany for a good 16 years. After she left office, things went quiet for her. “Today I’m doing very well personally,” said Merkel. The former chancellor made her first major TV appearance after the end of her time as chancellor. She not only spoke about challenging and serious current events such as the war in Ukraine, but also about the transition of the government and how she experienced the first months after the chancellorship.
The events are depressing, but she has “complete trust” in the current government. The transition to her successor Olaf Scholz (63) also went well. In the mood for occasional jokes and generally in a good mood, Merkel said that she had spent five weeks on the Baltic Sea.
More exercise and a book on your ear
She was “looking forward to this time” and planned a few things. On the one hand, “more movement” was on the plan, since this had “really been neglected” before. And she wanted to “read things I didn’t get around to”. Among other things, she also discovered audio books for herself. She heard about Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”.
Merkel went to the Baltic Sea alone, and “amazingly” she didn’t get bored. She “got around” the days well. This may sound “strange”, but before that she had been in politics for a good 30 years and had to complete one appointment after the other. The former Chancellor was “very, very happy” and since then I have believed that I can cope very well with this new phase of my life – and can also be very happy”.
Angela Merkel is “not a normal citizen”
Angela Merkel also stated that she did not want to keep commenting on current issues after she left office, even if she would remain “a political person”. She is “not a normal citizen” and therefore has to be more careful than many other people. The former chancellor received many invitations, but no longer just wanted to “work through appointments”. When she was still in office, she did not shirk responsibility for 16 years, but is no longer obliged to comment on every point – not even on things like the 9-euro ticket.
The former chancellor also spoke about the tremors after which Germany had worried about Merkel in 2019. On the one hand, after the death of her mother in April 2019, she was “I think very exhausted” because it “took her more” than she would have thought. In addition, she probably drank little at that time. In addition, there was “a kind of fear, if such a situation occurred again” with her.
With the motto “So what is my country?” invited to the conversation that the “Spiegel” journalist Alexander Osang was having with Merkel. In 2021, the publisher also published three speeches by Merkel under this title. Phoenix broadcast the event.
