And that was the way she liked it: Merkel, to her credit is much more interested in policy than soundbites. In August 2015, days before she opened the borders for Syrian refugees, she said of the refugee crisis “wir schaffen das” (we can manage it). Merkel was the most surprised of us all that her humdrum phrase became the rallying call of the refugee crisis. Her new favourite word is ZusammenhaltThroughout her speech Merkel referred to Zusammenhalt (solidarity). An economic union of EuropeLest we forget, the previous fours years weren’t just marked by a refugee crisis.

Source: The Local March 21, 2018 16:52 UTC