With a parade of torch-bearing soldiers and a 1970s hit from the Communist East, Germany’s Angela Merkel bid farewell as chancellor. She leaves office next week.
One week before she steps aside, outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel was treated to a traditional sendoff Thursday, involving a military ceremony with a brass band playing her choice of music – reported to include a 1970s punk song.
In a ceremonial military send-off to mark the end of her 16 years as chancellor, Angela Merkel left Germans with a final message on Thursday: Trust one another.
Less than a week before Ms. Merkel will officially hand over power to her successor, Olaf Scholz, she received her country’s highest military honors, featuring a traditional parade of torch-bearing soldiers and a marching band.
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In a short address, just hours after she had presided over her last pandemic emergency meeting and announced a partial lockdown for those who refuse to get vaccinated, Ms. Merkel warned that trust was one of the most important ingredients in democracy.
“The last two years of this pandemic have shown how important the trust in politics, science and societal discourse is — but also how fragile it can be,” she told a small audience of masked and socially distanced guests. Democracy, she said, “depends on solidarity and trust, including the trust in facts.