For half a year, Angela Merkel had largely disappeared, now she is back. She shows no remorse about Russia. And she doesnt want to make any comments from the sidelines in the future either.Berlin. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has vehemently defended her Russia policy during the 16 years as head of government.In Berlin, in her first major interview since leaving office, she declined to apologize for the course that many criticized as being too lenient towards Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Well, I dont see that I have to say now: That was wrong, and thats why I wont apologize." Merkel handed over her official duties to SPD politician Olaf Scholz on December 8 and then largely disappeared. Almost exactly half a year later, she is now returning to public stages. Last week, she gave the eulogy in front of more than 100 guests when the long-time DGB boss Reiner Hoffmann said goodbye. On Tuesday evening she was interviewed by the journalist Alexander Osang for almost 100 minutes in the Berliner Ensemble, the Brecht Theater at the Friedrichstrasse station."Today Im doing very well personally"
And? how is she now As a citizen Angela Merkel? "Today Im doing very well personally," says the 67-year-old, who has spent the last few months walking on the Baltic Sea, reading and listening to books and spent vacations in Italy. Sounds good if it werent for what Merkel and others call a "turning point". "Of course I remain a political person and thats why Im sometimes depressed these days, like many, many others." What is meant is the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has instigated. Germanys Russia policy over the past two decades, which Merkel has played a key role in shaping, is in tatters.No regrets on Russia course
Unlike Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who publicly acknowledged mistakes at the beginning of April, Merkel stands by her course. To what extent did it help prevent an escalation with Russia? "Fortunately, I tried enough. Its a great sadness that I didnt succeed," she says. The annexation of the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea by Russia could 2014 have been dealt with more harshly. However, one cannot say that nothing was done at the time. She referred to Russias exclusion from the group of leading industrial nations (G8) and NATOs decision that every country should spend two percent of its gross domestic product on defense. She was not "naive" in dealing with Russia. Merkel also defended that she 2008 opposed an eastward expansion of NATO to include Ukraine and Georgia. If NATO had given the two countries accession prospects at the time, Putin "could have done enormous damage in Ukraine," she says.Will not call Putin
Merkel complains that after the fall of the wall it was not possible to create a security architecture that could have prevented the current escalation. "In all these years it has not been possible to really end the Cold War." The former Chancellor does not see herself as a mediator in the Ukraine war. When asked if she would phone Putin, she said: "I dont have the impression that its going to be of any use at the moment." There is "little to discuss from my point of view". Despite the war and differences, Merkel can still joke about past encounters with Putin. For example, about the memorable meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi 2007, when Putin visibly frightened the chancellor with his black labrador dog. "A brave chancellor has to deal with a dog like that," says Merkel today."Full confidence" in the new government
Merkel does not say a bad word about her successor - at least not directly. She says she has "complete trust" in the new federal government and in Olaf Scholz. There are people at work who are not "newcomers" and who know the situation. And in case things dont go that way, she still has her leverage. "If something were to happen now (...) where I say its going in the completely wrong direction, then I can call a lot of people. But I havent had to do that yet." But what goes against the grain of the chancellor is that she is now being blamed for the fact that the Bundeswehr is so run down. The defense budget has increased since 2014, she says. And she blames the SPD for not wanting to buy armed drones for a long time.Seizures also because of her mothers death
In the interview, Merkel also talks about very personal things. For example, the public tremors that caused great concern in the final stages of her term. There were two reasons for this, she says: After the death of her mother, she was very exhausted. Also, she drank too little. Last but not least, with military honors, she was afraid that the tremors would occur again. Thats why she had a chair put on the pedestal at the ceremonies in order to hear the national anthems while sitting.Not a "normal citizen"
Merkel no longer wants to get really involved in politics. "Its not my job to comment from the sidelines now," she says. She is "former Chancellor" and not a "normal citizen". 16 For years everything that was somehow relevant passed her table. Now she wants to recover and gain some distance. She gets a lot of invitations, but doesnt just want to work through appointments. When she reads that she only does "feel good appointments" now, she says, "Yes." (dpa)
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