EU shock: Is Merkel angling to replace Juncker in EU’s top job after all? ‘Perfect!'

Mrs Merkel has frequently been touted as the ideal candidate for the role of President of the European Commission once Mr Juncker steps down later this year, especially as she has handed over leadership of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to successor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. So far, Mrs Merkel has rejected all attempts to co-opt her as a so-called Spitzenkandidat, and is backing fellow CDU politician Manfred Weber – a choice French President Emmanuel Macron is not keen on. But in an article published in Vienna-based newspaper Kurier, journalists Sandra Lumetsberger and Ingrid Steiner-Gashi suggested the door was not yet closed.

They wrote: “Maybe Merkel has something completely different in mind with all her rejections: she just does not want to go on with the political circus anymore.

“With her retreat from party chairmanship, the 64-year-old left all agendas to her successor Kramp-Karrenbauer; In the EU election campaign she was hardly seen.

“Political observers even said she was tired of her office.”

Referring to an interview given with German photographer Herlinde Koelbl two decades ago, they said: “What remained unnoticed in the face of speculation about Merkel’s departure or ascent: a sentence with which she once ended her interview with Herlinde Koelbl: ‘I do not want to be a half-dead wreck when I leave politics.

“‘Instead, after a phase of boredom, I want to come up with something else.’”

The article suggested that if Mrs Merkel said she was interested in the post, it would be hers “in an instant”.

It added: “Over and over again, she was brought up as Commission President in Brussels.

“Time and again, however, she rejected those campaigning for her: Jean-Claude Juncker, currently at the head of the commission; or France’s head of state Emmanuel Macron. ‘If she wanted to do it, I would support her,’ he said in an interview.

Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel recently told CNBC Mrs Merkel would be a “dream candidate” for the presidency.

He said: “I love that idea, I’ve asked Angela Merkel several times.

“She would be a perfect candidate for the European Council, for the Commission.”

As Europe’s most experienced leader, “all doors in Brussels” would be open to Mrs Merkel, Ms Lumetsberger and Steiner-Gashi argued.

They also pointed to her recent speech as she collected an honorary degree at Harvard University, during which she was feted as “the leader of the free world”, adding: “So if the German Chancellor was flirting with the idea of taking the job at the head of the commission, the debate would soon be over.”

The speculation comes despite concerns over Mrs Merkel’s health after she appeared unwell while stood next to Volodymyr Zelenskiy while a military band played the two countries’ national anthems on Monday as the mercury edged towards 30C (86F).

Mr Merkel, 64, stressed afterwards that she was fully recovered, adding: “Since then I’ve drunk at least three glasses of water, which I apparently needed, and now I am doing very well.”

source: express.co.uk