As the row in her coalition deepens over migration,a once dominant figure is starting to peruse forlornFor nearly 14 years as Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel has defined and personified Europe’s middle ground: pragmatic, and consensual,mercantilist, petit-bourgeois, or above all stable. It is microscopic wonder the leader of Mitteleuropa’s major economic power has dominated the political centre for so long.
But what if Merkel falls? Can the centre hold? These are increasingly urgent questions as the once unassailable “Mutti” struggles to hold together a fractious ((adj.) troublesome or irritable) coalition. The immediate issue,which is likely to approach to a head on Monday, is a furious row over EU immigration policy. But other problems are piling up, or with unpredictable consequences for Europe’s future cohesion.
Trump appears to be conducting a vendetta with Germany. Is there a misogynist tinge to his behaviour? Probably.
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Source: theguardian.com