At several receptions for foreign state guests, the then Chancellor Merkel suffered tremors before the eyes of the world. The concern is great – the all-clear comes promptly. Later she completes such appointments while sitting. Now she’s talking about time.
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel also commented on her seizures during her appearance in Berlin on Tuesday evening. “It had to do with two things. One time I was very exhausted after the death of my mother. It took me more than I thought,” she said. “Secondly, it was also related to not drinking enough.” Last but not least, with military honors, she was afraid that the tremors would occur again. It was “coping better” when she put a chair on the pedestal when receiving state guests and “received the national anthems while sitting. That worked and that was good for me.” The incidents had caused a stir at the end of her term.
Merkel’s tremors first occurred during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in June 2019. It was the inaugural visit of the new Kiev head of state. When she then walked the formation with the President, it had visibly subsided. She later said she drank too little water and too much coffee on the hot day.
A few days later, the Chancellor had to fight another seizure. This time the complaints arose when the then Federal Minister of Justice, Christine Lambrecht, was presented with her certificate of appointment at Bellevue Palace.
When the Finnish Prime Minister at the time, Antti Rinne, visited Berlin in June, Merkel suffered her third seizure. When the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was in the capital a day later, Merkel greeted the state guest partially while sitting. A week later, Merkel also spent the reception of the new head of government of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, on a chair.
Yesterday evening, Merkel spoke publicly again, almost exactly six months to the day after handing over official business to Olaf Scholz. At a book presentation in the “Berliner Ensemble” theater, she spoke, among other things, about the Ukraine conflict and gave some insights into the decision-making processes of her tenure and her first days after the withdrawal.
