The German Chancellor announced on Monday that she will step down as leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in December, and will not seek re-election as leader of Germany at the next general election in 2021.
Her shock decision came following a series of embarrassing electoral defeats for the CDU and its sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).
In particular, the state elections in Hesse last Sunday saw the CDU lose 11.3 percent of its votes compared to its result in 2013, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party scored a nine percent surge in support.
Leading Brexiteer MEP Jonathan Bullock has since criticised the German Chancellor over her failure to recognise the legitimate concerns of the German people over her “open-door” immigration policy at the height of the Syrian Civil War, which saw over one million refugees enter the country.
In a sharp rebuke, he said: “Merkel is now a lame duck Chancellor.
“She made the mistake of not recognising the concern about immigration and changes in society which the people felt concerned about.”
Mr Bullock’s statements were echoed by journalist Adam Boulton, who said on Sky News: “Conventional wisdom in this country is that once you announce you’re going, you’re a lame duck and you don’t matter anyway.”
Stefanie Bolzen, London correspondent of German newspaper Die Welt, concurred: “This is not only your country, it’s also the same in German.
“So the knives are out, the race for succession has already started, there are three contenders and I’m pretty sure Ms Merkel will not be Chancellor in 2021 anymore.”
She claimed that Ms Merkel will likely not last more than six months, and stated that she “has to go”.
In her speech at the CDU headquarters in Berlin on Monday, Ms Merkel said she will not stand as a candidate in any future German elections, or for any other political office, despite growing suspicions she would run for the presidency of the European Commission.
She said: “Firstly, at the next CDU party congress in December in Hamburg, I will not put myself forward again as candidate for the CDU chair.
“Secondly, this fourth term is my last as German Chancellor. At the federal election in 2021, I will not stand again as Chancellor candidate, nor as a candidate for the Bundestag, and I won’t seek any further political offices.”
In the absence of Chancellor Merkel from EU politics, Mr Bullock believes the role of de-facto leader of Europe will be assumed by French President Emmanuel Macron.
He said: “Macron would like to takeover as leader of Europe but he is making the same mistakes.”
He nevertheless warned the shake-up of EU leaders will likely have little impact on the UK’s negotiations with the bloc in regards to Brexit, and will not lead to a softening of the EU’s stance.
The Brexiteer MEP stated firmly: “It is vital that we start to act tough in these negotiations irrespective of other leaders’ difficulties.
“Unless we secure a deal which keeps us genuinely outside EU rules, the customs union and the single market we should be prepared to walk away and plan properly for no deal.”