Much of the Western media are reflexively adoring of outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Jennifer Rubin says Merkel is “the most resolute leader on the continent when it comes to Russia and defense of Europe.” At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York magazine’s Justin Davidson lauded Merkel for her “direct, honest, and searingly empathic” address. CNN’s Stephen Collinson proclaims Merkel the “moral leader of the West.”
Eloquent as they may be, these assertions do not fit with Merkel’s record. They ignore her astonishing appeasement of Chinese territorial imperialism and her disinterest in China’s Uyghur genocide. They ignore the chancellor’s overt support for Vladimir Putin’s energy blackmail strategy and her hosting of his chemical weapons program. They ignore Merkel’s hollowing out of that most important guardrail against external aggression, military power, and the ensuing damage to NATO credibility. Concluding her 16-year tenure, Merkel will bequeath her successor with rising foreign threats and impotent European responses.
Ironically, considering its penchant for lying, it is the Chinese Communist Party that most honestly assesses Merkel’s record.
Saluting Merkel’s final video conference with Xi Jinping on Tuesday, Beijing’s Global Times newspaper offered a photo-laden homage to the German leader. It explained, “[Merkel’s] leaving the post comes at a critical moment for Europe, which has plunged into a dilemma of refugees, an aging population, rampant far-right forces and being hit head-on by the U.S.’ constant betrayal.”
Xi addressed Merkel as a comrade. “The Chinese people will never forget their old friend. The doors of China will always be open to you.” Xi offered hope that the “EU will uphold its independence, truly safeguard its own interests and the solidarity of the international community.” In return, Merkel told Xi, “I believe that EU-China relations will continue to grow despite various complicated factors.”
The mutual warmth is well-earned. Rewarded for appeasing Xi’s genocide, imperialism, intellectual property theft, and desecration of treaty commitments, Merkel has earned German manufacturers a vast export market. But the costs are clear. Once again, a chancellor has prioritized the interests of German steel over the protection of innocent life and international security.
Merkel’s cold calculation isn’t unique.
Unable or unwilling to reform their sclerotic economies, many European leaders remain determined to turn a blind eye to China’s human rights and foreign policies. They veil these efforts with clever diplomatic jargon. France’s finance minister encapsulated this dynamic in an interview with the New York Times on Tuesday.”The United States wants to confront China. The European Union wants to engage China,” Bruno Le Maire said. “It sounds so reasonable. But what it really means is: we’re not going to upset China because we want their investments and their open doors to our exports.”
Yet China has a problem.
Below the executive offices, in the European Parliament and in European national parliaments, another trend is rising. Disgusted by Beijing’s arrogance, its deceptions, and its destruction of innocent life, European parliamentarians are demanding a tougher stance. Much to China’s concern, their demands are shaping policy. Merkel’s much-vaunted EU-China trade deal has been put on ice, with the European parliament demanding that China drop sanctions on its members and end forced labor.
It’s not clear what will happen next. But a more hesitant German policy toward China seems likely.
When Merkel finally leaves office, different views of her premiership will be offered. Regardless, for the greatest adversary of human freedom, Communist China, the viewpoint is clear. Merkel is a heroic friend.
