--- title: Angela Merkel's Legacy Is Saving and Strengthening Europe description: Merkel has bolstered Europe by showing other leaders that compromise is possible for the good of all. That makes future crises less likely canonical: https://time.com/6102034/angela-merkel-legacy/ author: Ian Bremmer article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-09-28T16:30:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-14T09:15:12.414Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Angela Merkel's Legacy Is Saving and Strengthening Europe og:description: Merkel has bolstered Europe by showing other leaders that compromise is possible for the good of all. That makes future crises less likely og:url: https://time.com/6102034/angela-merkel-legacy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt222d045c77a86051/698a1d4386f68e21736f0592/GettyImages-1235469094.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: GERMANY-POLITICS-ELECTION-PARTIES-CDU-CSU og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Angela Merkel's Legacy Is Saving and Strengthening Europe twitter:description: Merkel has bolstered Europe by showing other leaders that compromise is possible for the good of all. That makes future crises less likely twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt222d045c77a86051/698a1d4386f68e21736f0592/GettyImages-1235469094.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Angela Merkel Didn't Just Save Europe. She Also Made It More Resilient > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=a62307f7-c460-4254-94e7-091adb7278ae&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Sam Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Globally minded knowledge seekers. Readers who turn to journalism to understand the world, with meaningful concentrations among educators, students, media professionals, civic institutions and knowledge workers. ### TIME Inside TIME: key statements * Inside TIME is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Inside TIME is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=a62307f7-c460-4254-94e7-091adb7278ae&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=a62307f7-c460-4254-94e7-091adb7278ae&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=a62307f7-c460-4254-94e7-091adb7278ae&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Person of The Year 2015: Watch Angela Merkel's Year in Review [Watch (HLS stream): Person of The Year 2015: Watch Angela Merkel's Year in Review](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CG7O6dnC.m3u8) (3:47)  _Published 2015-12-09. Person of the year 2015: Watch Angela Merkel's Year in Review_  by [Ian Bremmer](https://time.com/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Sep 28, 2021 4:30 PM UTC Person of the year 2015: Watch Angela Merkel's Year in Review  by [Ian Bremmer](https://time.com/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Sep 28, 2021 4:30 PM UTC Germany’s election on Sept. 26 ended [without a clear winner](https://time.com/6101806/germany-elections-what-happens-next-spd/), but one thing at least is certain: Angela Merkel will soon exit the political stage she has occupied for the past 16 years, kickstarting much debate about her legacy for Germany, and for the world. Comparisons with her mentor and predecessor [Helmut Kohl](https://time.com/4821713/helmut-kohl-germany/), who led Germany through reunification, are as inevitable as they are unfair. Her critics say that, though a formidable historical figure, she has accomplished nothing that can equal the leadership of Kohl. But the demands of their eras were entirely different. To understand that is to recognize Merkel’s lasting achievement. In 1990, a heady sense of opportunity in both West and East Germany created the public support that Helmut Kohl needed to take on one of the most ambitious and complex global governing challenges since the end of World War II. Over the Merkel era of the past 16 years, by contrast, Germans (and Europeans generally) have needed a thoughtful, flexible problem-solver to guide them through a debt emergency, a surge of migrants from the Middle East, and the deadliest global pandemic in a century. In the process, Angela Merkel helped save the European Union. That’s an accomplishment that deserves lasting respect. **Read more:** [_The Chancellor of the Free World_](https://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2015-angela-merkel/) Convinced that a strong and cohesive E.U. would be good for her country, the German Chancellor bridged the gaps and cut the deals, sometimes over the objections of her own finance minister, that helped Europe’s most deeply indebted countries survive the 2010-2012 sovereign debt crisis. Merkel kept her word that Germany would lead the way in coping with the 2015-2016 surge in migrants by welcoming more than one million desperate people into her country. In response to the pandemic and the need for a bold economic recovery plan, she shifted German opinion on the need for common European debt. All of these decisions remain highly controversial. Her critics say they have fed public cynicism about the E.U. and fueled the populism that has threatened in recent years to poison its politics. But without Angela Merkel, and her willingness to take on more costs and risks so that others could take less, the E.U. might have lost much more than Britain. Her leadership has also been good for most Germans. Some [70 percent](https://www.forschungsgruppe.de/Umfragen/Politbarometer/Langzeitentwicklung%5F-%5FThemen%5Fim%5FUeberblick/Wirtschaft%5Fund%5FSoziales/#WLEig) now say they’re happy with their economic circumstances. Much of that success might have happened without her, powered by new opportunities for Germany to export to China after it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and by cheap labor provided by workers from the former Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe, which joined the E.U. just a year before Merkel became chancellor. But Merkel’s ability to manage emergencies has helped keep Germany’s economic engine humming, and one of the results is a surge in the number of jobs across Germany, especially for women. Unemployment is now near its lowest point of the Merkel era. In addition, a balanced budget law enacted in 2009 has helped keep public debt low. There is much more Merkel could have done, to be sure. By balancing its books, Germany has invested far less than it might have in the transition from carbon-based to renewable energy. While some credit Merkel for using Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster to transition Germany away from nuclear power, the country’s carbon emissions remain high by European standards. **Read more:** [_Inside Annalena Baerbock’s Campaign to Radically Transform Germany_ ](https://time.com/6095884/annalena-baerbock-germany/) Though Merkel remains popular, her party doesn’t. She leaves with an [80 percent approval rating](https://www.ft.com/content/259523b5-a24e-426e-8167-a421cec8ceed?emailId=6148539f219b4100042694d8&segmentId=13b7e341-ed02-2b53-e8c0-d9cb59be8b3b) even as her party is in historic decline. The vote share of the center-right alliance she led slid [from 41.5 percent in 2013 to 33 percent in 2017.](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/24/german-exit-poll-shows-angela-merkel-is-on-track-for-fourth-term-as-chancellor.html) In the Sept. 26 election, the CDU-CSU fared even worse, securing [just over 24 percent](https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-2021-live-updates/a-59312264) and finishing narrowly behind their center-left rivals the SPD. Whoever emerges as the next chancellor will be seen by most Germans as a pale shadow of her leadership. Not only is Merkel a tough act to follow in Germany, there is no one else now in Europe who can match her tenacity and resilience either. In particular, French President Emmanuel Macron, facing a re-election campaign next year, inspires too much mistrust, including in France, to inherit Merkel’s ability to guide combative European leaders toward agreement. Fortunately, Merkel has strengthened Europe itself by showing other leaders that compromise is possible for the good of all. That makes future crises less likely – a legacy worth celebrating. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] 2015 was Europe's most tumultuous year in recent memory. The gruesome terrorist attack targeted satirical newspaper Paris. And your bankruptcy of Greece spread in Europe's currency union. A massive influx of refugees overwhelm the continent. And as the year wound down, terrorists struck again in the city of light, killing at least 130 people and sowing fears of future attacks. Into that turmoil stepped German chancellor Angela Merkel. 2015 was her tenth year at the helm of Europe's largest economy. Few expected her to last that long. Born in Hamburg in 1954, Merkel grew up in the former East Germany, traveling only as widely as the confines of the Iron Curtain would allow. It wasn't until 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down, But Merkel left the world of physics to enter national politics at the age of 35. She rose quickly, becoming a member of Parliament, a government minister at 36. But it appears Tennet underestimated Merkel. [ FOREIGN ] Even after she was elected Germany's first female Chancellor in 2005. Here nickname in the German press soon became [ FOREIGN ] [ APPLAUSE ] For momma, a rise short hand for her motherly and moralizing style. But the events of this year showed Morty confronting every challenge. In January, massive crowds of right wing demonstrators protested Morty's openness towards migrants in the Muslim world. In response, Morty rallied side by side with Muslim leaders and By the summer, the left- wing government in Athens was on the verge of financial ruin. Desperate Greeks demanded debt relief, and Merkel became the target of their anger. But she didn't flinch. On her insistence, Greece was forced to accept even tougher terms for repayment stats To other European crisis [ FOREIGN ] a chance got her way. But the refugee crisis soon pose even a greater challenge. By August roughly a hundred thousand were arriving in Europe each month from Syria, Iraq and other conflict zones. Hungary and other states began to build fences and close borders That marked a turning point for Merkel. In early September, she made the bold decision to double down on her open door policy. [ FOREIGN ] Fatigue has set in fast. Some of Merkel's closest allies questioned whether their pragmatic chancellor had gone soft and sentimental. The Islamist terror attacks that struck Paris in November have not made it any easier Here, for [ UNKNOWN ] to preach compassion and inclusiveness. Throughout Europe Islamiphobia's on the rise, and yet talk of [ UNKNOWN ] political downfall proved to be premature. Across Europe and the world she's no longer seen as just a frugal and efficient manager, she now embodies Europe's ideals of openness and solidarity At a time when both were being severely tested. By viewing the refugees as victims to be rescued rather than invaders to be repelled. The woman raised behind the iron curtain and gambled on freedom. You can agree with her or no, but she's not taking the easy road. As she has shown in her dealings with debtor nations With Vladimir Putin's menacing ambitions, and now with the migrant crisis. Leadership is only hard when people don't want to follow. If we're asking more of our country than most politicians would dare, if we're standing firm against tyranny as well as expedience, and for providing ambitious moral leadership in a world where it is in short supply. Angela Merkel is Time's person of the year. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6102034/angela-merkel-legacy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6102034/angela-merkel-legacy/"},"headline":"Angela Merkel Didn't Just Save Europe. She Also Made It More Resilient","datePublished":"2021-09-28T16:30:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T09:15:12.414Z","description":"A legacy worth celebrating","url":"https://time.com/6102034/angela-merkel-legacy/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt222d045c77a86051/698a1d4386f68e21736f0592/GettyImages-1235469094.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ian Bremmer","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/ian-bremmer/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt222d045c77a86051/698a1d4386f68e21736f0592/GettyImages-1235469094.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GERMANY-POLITICS-ELECTION-PARTIES-CDU-CSU","caption":"GERMANY-POLITICS-ELECTION-PARTIES-CDU-CSU","creditText":"AFP via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6102034/angela-merkel-legacy/","name":"Angela Merkel Didn't Just Save Europe. She Also Made It More Resilient"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Person of The Year 2015: Watch Angela Merkel's Year in Review","description":"Person of the year 2015: Watch Angela Merkel's Year in Review","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/CG7O6dnC/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-12-09T12:08:54.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CG7O6dnC.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6102034/angela-merkel-legacy/","duration":"PT3M47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6102034/angela-merkel-legacy/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```