Angela regina
The German chancellor may wobble, but not for the reasons widely assumed
ON AUGUST 19th, hours before jetting off to Brazil for more of the statesmanship the world associates with her, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, sat waiting in the Bundestag. Germany’s parliament had to approve a third bail-out of Greece since 2010. As usual she ostentatiously fiddled with her mobile phone whenever the opposition attacked her, while putting on an inscrutable expression. But she was probably pondering two numbers.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Angela regina”
Discover more
Emmanuel Macron shows off the gloriously restored Notre Dame
Five years after it was gutted by fire, the cathedral is more beautiful than ever
Ursula von der Leyen has a new doctrine for handling the hard right
The boss of the European Commission embarks on a second term
Marine Le Pen spooks the bond markets
She threatens to bring down the French government, but also faces a possible ban from politics
The maths of Europe’s military black hole
It needs to spend to defend, but voters may balk
Ukraine’s warriors brace for a Kremlin surge in the south
Vladimir Putin’s war machine is pushing harder and crushing Ukrainian morale
Vladimir Putin fires a new missile to amplify his nuclear threats
The attack on Ukraine is part of a new era of missile warfare