Does Merkel's political self-confidence depend on the golden mean?

The Union Party led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel won the most votes in the German Bundestag election on 24th, ahead of other parties. If the cabinet is formed smoothly, Merkel, who has been prime minister for 12 years, will continue to lead Germany for 4 years.

Compared with the elections held in the United States, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom in the last year, the just-concluded German general election is less dramatic. "Boring" and "boring" are the most commonly used adjectives in the media: polling agencies predicted early that Merkel's CDU would be far ahead of other rivals, and there was almost no suspense that Merkel herself would become prime minister. Even from the beginning, election observers only focused on the formation of the cabinet and the opposition party.

From "the sinner who split Europe" to "the leader of the free world" again. Merkel relies on "ambiguity" and the middle course.

The fish market was crowded. Wearing a low-key gray-green suit, Merkel waved to voters and began to talk about the controversial project of "dredging the Elbe River". "The channel of the Elbe River must be dredged and dug deep, so that Hamburg can better become an international port. The Green Party says it will damage the environment, but we have no other choice. " There was no hesitation in her tone, and the applause was thunderous. Merkel always seems to wander somewhere in the middle. This kind of "fuzziness" is deliberate to some extent, which makes her very different from Schroeder, who often makes impulsive decisions.

A word "Merkeln" was even created for her in German, which means "not to decide or make a statement". Needless to say, this is ironic, criticizing her as an unprincipled and opportunistic politician.

But in the eyes of others, "ambiguity" is exactly the necessary quality of a mature politician. "Merkel does not need to shape the image of a personal hero through high-profile statements, as in the United States. In Germany, her task is to form a cabinet. She needs the ability to unite around.

The German economy under Merkel grew year after year, which is the most important reason why Merkel was recognized by voters. Stability, reliability, political achievements and wisdom are the most commonly used words when voters refer to Merkel.

However, if we turn the clock back to two years ago, the situation is very different: in 215 and 216, when Merkel decided to open the door of Germany to millions of refugees, when the sexual assault on the Cologne church and the terrorist attack on the Christmas market in Berlin triggered a huge debate on immigration, and when the resettlement of refugees set off conflicts among EU member States, the criticism against Merkel was rampant for a time, and Merkel's support rate in domestic polls once fell to the lowest point. Francis Fukuyama, a well-known political scholar, even called her a "more serious threat than the Islamic State". Many people believe that the 217 general election is "Merkel's obituary".

So this golden mean is the secret of Merkel's re-election.