Views of Angela Merkel’s 16 years in power have become harsher

Barack Obama is content with his legacy, Angela Merkel, the former German chancellor, replied in a series of interviews published last week with , a German weekly, that she believes the former American president is at peace with himself, whereas she is still searching. To endure criticism is part of democracy, said Mrs Merkel, but she added that she reckoned that a retired American president is treated with more respect in public than a retired German chancellor.A year after she stepped down as chancellor, the war in Ukraine has cast a shadow over Mrs Merkel’s reputation. She used to be widely admired for her moderation and pragmatism. “Merkel”, a new documentary by Eva Weber, a German director who lives in London, which premiered in Berlin on November 23rd, largely reflects this view.