SYED SHAH, a young Pakistani asylum-seeker loitering outside a registration office in Berlin, has a theory about Angela Merkel. He isn’t entirely sure who she is. But, he notes, “Great people have great leaders.” The Germans he has encountered since his arrival a week ago have been so welcoming and friendly that it stands to reason that their chancellor would share their qualities.
Perhaps he is right. Mrs Merkel’s response to the refugee crisis certainly seems to belie her popular image as a political weathervane who dares not step too far beyond public opinion. The chancellor has held firm as parts of Germany, including her conservative coalition, have wobbled under the strain of refugee numbers. Her new catchphrase, “We will manage!”, marries a faith in German efficiency with a rather un-Teutonic optimism.
What has come over the Iron Chancelloress? A recent edition of Der Spiegel, a German weekly, depicts Mrs Merkel as a twinkly-eyed nun and avers that on refugees, she is “driven more by her sentiment than she is willing to admit.” In truth, her approach is still hard-headed. Although Germany, like most…
