On Tuesday evening, the former German head of government spoke live for the first time regarding the state of the world and life as a retiree. It got embarrassing, but not for her.
It would have been nice if Angela Merkel, on her first major appearance since the end of her long term in office, had had someone to talk to who didn’t adore her. But the Chancellor, who was off duty, was sitting across from a journalist on the stage of the Berliner Ensemble that Tuesday evening who, at least with her as a conversation partner, was unable to formulate reasonable questions, i.e. questions asked from a professional distance.