Angela Merkel's The Skills and Understanding of the Foreign Policy Objectives

Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany which is the economic and political powerhouse of Europe holds unparalleled skills and understanding of the foreign policy objectives of Europe’s adversaries like Russia. Her upbringing and visceral analytic perception have allowed her to bridge gaps that few others thought possible. In today’s geopolitical picture, she leads the broader European community in international affairs and is the lynchpin for keeping the EU viable, Europe safe from other world powers, and extreme populism subdued within Germany and perhaps the entirety of Europe.

The European Union’s economic and overall outlook in recent years has been rather grim with the Greek crisis and more recently Brexit shaking the group to its core. As a debate over economic sovereignty and nationalism vs more united European views rage, she is positioned as someone who both has the power to determine Europe’s fate, but also the negotiation skills and upbringing to truly understand and sympathize with both sides of the equation.

She has seen Germany emerge on the economic stage to become Europe’s leading figure and can understand why the bailout of Greece and fiscal aid to other nations may be unsettling to many others and yet she knows that by letting one state fall into crisis, the whole of Europe is eventually endangered. By taking a moderate economic stance in her own country, she has positioned herself nearly perfect to lead Europe with a minimized opposition as she pleases the political right with freer markets and the political left by strengthening unions.

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Her bend towards analysis and pragmatism away from deep ideological roots has created a trust by both the German citizenry and the broader European community that even when tested has proven hard to weaken.

In a time of great geopolitical instability for the other world powers, Angela Merkel appears to have perhaps taken the mantle as the leader of not only Europe but the free world. As China struggles to deal with North Korea, Russia aggresses Eastern Europe, and leadership crises consume the US, she is a calming figure that seems relatively unshaken by the tumultuous events unfolding across the other powers. In just the past few years, Russia has annexed Crimea from Ukraine, Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw the US from NATO, and Europe has struggled to deal with the rise of terrorism. Yet, Merkel again appears almost stoic in her responses to each of these issues. Her upbringing in East Germany has made her unequivocally prepared to deal with Vladimir Putin, who is a tactical genius in his own right. With Trump espousing isolationist rhetoric, she quickly picked up the slack in leading the free world while also pushing for the US to keep its commitments to Europe.

With many nations beginning to embrace anti-immigrant sentiments, Merkel instead allowed more refugees into Germany which was not only a huge humanitarian decision for the country but also influenced other countries to revisit the issue. While it can be argued that France or Britain also play a large role in the Geopolitical affairs of Europe, few would argue that Theresa May or Emmanuel Macron could lead as well in geopolitical affairs.

These past few years have seen populism on both the left and right-wing surge in Europe in some cases to arguably dangerous levels. National Front in France, Freedom Party in the Netherlands, Golden Dawn in Greeand ce, Jobbik in Hungary all highlianti-immigrant rant, generally anti-EU, and in some cases openly Neo-Nazi views into the political mainstream.

Far-left parties like France Unbowed and Podemos in Spain have shown soft Euroscepticism or a drive to renegotiate the current status quo. While some of the parties listed above hawhenve taken power or came very close to it, Germany under Merkel has been able to crush most of the populist swells like Alternative for Germany (AFD) before they gain a major foothold.

This is again where her centrism has silenced moderate critics on both sides thus taking any accelerant away from populist parties looking to gain traction. Her ability to sidestep or ignore criticism has also helped to take away platforms from would-be populists both inside the country and out. In a time where both Europe and the world at large facefacere uncertainty, Angela Merkel’s unique set of skills and experiences have equipped her to hold Europe together and away from the fiscal, foreign, and ideological threats. In many ways, she is the lynchpin of what’s currently holding Europe together in an increasingly divisive world.

Though the continuation of many crises will expose new and rising problems in keeping Europe united, Merkel provides the best hope for the stability of the continent.