Berlin

Angela Merkel’s time as “leader of the West,” to use the honorific the New York Times and CNN bestowed on her, lasted about eight months​—​roughly from the swearing-in of Donald J. Trump in January until people began throwing tomatoes at her during a September campaign rally in Heidelberg. “Traitor to the people!” the signs said. “Hau ab!” the attendees shouted, an instruction too obscene to translate. By election day, so loud was the whistling that outdoor rallies were moved indoors.