Surprise in Germany: The country misses Angela Merkel

Amid Germany's political crisis and plummeting support for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, polls reveal growing nostalgia for Angela Merkel. Her official portrait, displayed at a museum in Berlin, has become a pilgrimage site, even as her legacy faces harsh criticism.

Amid Germany's political crisis and plummeting support for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, polls reveal growing nostalgia for Angela Merkel, who left office five years ago. Merz's approval rating stands at just 11 percent, while Merkel left with about 75 percent approval. Her official portrait, displayed at a museum in Berlin, has become a pilgrimage site. However, her political legacy faces harsh criticism: she pushed for purchasing gas from Russia, shut down nuclear power plants, and absorbed over a million refugees – steps that fueled the rise of the far-right AfD party. Merkel herself continues to control the narrative; during a museum visit, she locked fans out of the room and answered 'Nein' to a reporter's question.