1. The expectations surrounding the German presidency of the European Union could not be higher. Promising titles have followed in almost the entire European press. The chancellor’s face runs through the pages of the newspapers, her words are carefully reproduced and interpreted. Six months ago, Angela Merkel was said to be “politically finished”, only fulfilling the final stage of her fourth term in the Berlin chancellery, already in the shadow of her party’s internal dispute over succession. Germany had plunged into an existential crisis over its role in Europe and the world, ignoring the voices that called for its responsibility to lead Europe in increasingly controversial times. The German Presidency promised nothing more than to manage the continuity of the European agenda, in the shadow of a new Commission.
– .