'Eternal Chancellor' Merkel Turns 65 Amid Unconfirmed Health Problems

German Chancellor Angela Merkel celebrates her 65th birthday on Wednesday

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th July, 2019) German Chancellor Angela Merkel celebrates her 65th birthday on Wednesday. The former physicist from East Germany has headed the German government for almost 14 years in a row. The December 2018 statement made by the "eternal chancellor" that she intends to completely end her political career after 2021 was like a bolt from the blue.

Merkel's health is also a matter of concern: she experienced several public shaking bouts since June, and during the last visit of a high-ranking leader of a neighboring state to Germany, the chancellor, for the first time, listened to the national anthem while sitting on a chair. Merkel herself and her press service have not yet commented on the health issues. Could the "eternal chancellor" leave her post before 2021 because of an illness?

Merkel was born on July 17, 1954 in Hamburg into the family of Horst Kasner, an Evangelical Church priest from Berlin. The family relocated to the German Democratic Republic (GDR) soon after she was born as her father had received a position there. During her school years, she was a member of the Ernst Thalmann Pioneer Organization. Merkel later joined the Free German Youth League, the East German equivalent of the Soviet Union's Young Communist League.

She enrolled at Karl Marx University in Leipzig and studied physics there. In 1974, while still at the university, she got acquainted with Ulrich Merkel and married him in 1977.

Later in 1990, Merkel joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.

In 1991, Merkel was appointed a minister for women's and young people's affairs.

After the unification of Germany, Helmut Kohl, the country's former chancellor, actively patronized Merkel. Due to this situation, people dubbed her "Kohl's girl." However, the defeat of the CDU in the 1998 election and the 1999 scandal linked with the CDU's illegal financing schemes weakened these ties.

On December 22, 1999, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper published Merkel's article, in which she urged her party fellows to distance themselves from Kohl. The move prompted a number of senior party members to oppose the party leader.

In April 2000, Merkel was elected the party's chairperson, and on November 22, 2005, she became the country's chancellor. Since then the party, led by her, has won three more elections. Such continuity is not typical for developed countries of Western Europe.

"Merkel has a deep sense of responsibility. She initially said that she was elected until 2021 and intends to serve the complete term. She wants to do it, however, it depends not only on her but also on the political situation in the country; on her coalition partners, the social democrats; and on the outcome of the elections, which will be held in the east of Germany in the fall," former German ambassador to the Soviet Union and Russia, Ernst-Joerg von Studnitz, told Sputnik.

He added that the fact that "Germany and Europe are in dire need of stability due to the discussion about Brexit, the euroskeptical position of Poland and Hungary, the weaknesses of Italy and Greece" is another argument in favor of Merkel's stay. The ex-ambassador believes that this is "an extremely difficult situation," and Germany's weakness because of the chancellor's departure and the early elections "can be fatal for Europe."

"If Merkel does not have any serious health problems, she will stay until 2021 for one simple reason: the position of her successor, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer [who was elected as the CDU head in December 2018] in her own party is unstable, and also causes criticism from potential allies: the greens, liberals from the Free Democratic Party, and finally, the social democrats, who are more and more doubtful about the benefits of working in Merkel's government," a German political analyst, Professor Peter Schulze, told Sputnik, adding that Merkel should give her party time "to solve the problem of the successor."

According to Schulze, Merkel's role in addressing such important issues of German and European politics as relations with the United States, arms control, climate policy, and settlement in Ukraine should not be underestimated. These issues also include energy cooperation with Russia, the construction of the second leg of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which, the expert said, "would have been long dead without Merkel," because the chancellor "is firm in her positions, and, despite criticism, does not let anything confuse her."

That is why Merkel's early resignation would be damaging not only internally for Germany, but also for Russian-German relations.

"I have been watching Merkel closely and I can say that she is still in good shape. The whole nomination story of [German Defense Minister] Ursula von der Leyen for the European Commission presidency proves that the chancellor remains reasonable and is able to offer smart and clear solutions. It has always been like that, and the fact that she turns 65 does not change anything yet," a German political analyst, Professor Nils Diederich told Sputnik.

He added that Merkel had never clearly stated that she intended to serve the full term.

"She speaks about her health condition also, let's say, vaguely. There is an impression that she made up her mind about when exactly she was going to step down, but she is well aware that any public indication that she is ready to resign will immediately sideline her," Diederich concluded.