Last night, November 2, Angela Merkel was officially released from the post of German Chancellor, where she had been for 16 years. The ceremony took place in the form of the traditional military ceremonial act of seeing off, according to the government website.
About 200 people gathered in the courtyard of the German Ministry of Defense – due to the pandemic, the number of those invited was minimal. There were 52 ministers who in different years were part of the government during these 16 years. Ms Merkel thanked them warmly for their cooperation and noted:
“Trust is the most important capital in politics.”
And about. Chancellor recalled the 2008 financial crisis, the migration problems of 2015 and other events that she had to face “both politically and as a person.” Ms Merkel paid particular attention to pandemics. She criticized conspiracy theorists and urged to trust only scientific facts. Separately, she thanked all those who save the lives of the sick.
The farewell ceremony, as is traditionally accepted, was held with torches, as well as to the sound of a Christian anthem and … punk rock. Part of the ceremony is the performance of music of the person’s choice. Merkel chose the Christian anthem “Big God, We Praise You”, the song “It Will Rain Red Roses for Me” by 1950s movie star Hildegard Knef and the 1970s hit “You Forgot Your Color Film” by GDR punk rocker Nina Hagen. She explained the choice of songs by their connection with certain moments of her youth in the German Democratic Republic.
Angela Merkel sincerely wished the next government and its head Olaf Scholz success in their work and the opportunity to find worthy answers to all the challenges.
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