December 9th, local time, German Bild commented on German Chancellor Merkel’s speech in the general debate of the Bundestag.
Merkel called on the Germans to minimize unnecessary contact during Christmas. In her speech, Merkel folded her hands and her eyes were warm with tears. She earnestly hoped that the people could abide by the scientific epidemic prevention regulations. I’m sorry. I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart. If we pay the price (for the holiday) to be 590 deaths every day, then this is absolutely unacceptable.”
As the epidemic in Germany tightened, Merkel proposed to impose stricter lockdown measures during Christmas, including closing schools and restricting social activities.
Last budget debate during the term of office
Deutsche Börör said that this was Merkel’s 16th and last budget debate in the Bundestag, which was intended to defend the federal budget in 2021. However, Merkel turned it into a “historic” speech on the fight against the coronavirus epidemic.
On December 9th, local time, the German disease control department Robert Koch Institute released epidemic data, showing that so far, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in Germany has exceeded 1.23 million; the number of new coronavirus deaths in a single day has reached 590, setting a new record for two consecutive days; a total of 4,257 ICU beds have been affected by the novel coronavirus. Occupy.
According to Bloomberg, Merkel won public recognition for controlling the rate of COVID-19 during the first wave of epidemic. But during the second wave of the epidemic, Merkel was severely criticized for implementing only part of the lockdown policy and not controlling the epidemic.
According to the Guardian, in September this year, Merkel said that Germany’s daily new cases may reach 19,200 by Christmas. At that time, Merkel was accused of being alarmist. Now, this number has long been surpassed. Merkel, in her speech, comparing case data over several months, noted that the progress of the outbreak in Germany was very worrying.” What a sad record it is to have 590 new deaths in a single day.”
On December 8th local time, the German National Academy of Sciences issued a policy proposal calling on the whole country to implement stronger lockdown measures to avoid the further deterioration of the epidemic. Merkel also agreed with the scientists’ advice that the existing epidemic prevention measures are not enough to contain the epidemic, and she advocates the strictest measures to date to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Merkel is expected to meet with state governors on January 4, 2021. As of the evening of December 8 local time, German states of Saxony and Bavaria have announced stricter epidemic prevention measures.
highly emotional words convince the people
In this speech, Merkel was emotional and swallowed several times. In her speech, Merkel said, “On Christmas Eve, if people spend too much time contacting others, it may become the last Christmas we spend with our grandparents.”
Merkel has always been known as the “Iron Lady”. Germany’s Bild reported that compared with the previous rational analysis style of argument, Merkel used a highly emotional discourse expression to persuade the public this time. The speech also surprised parliamentarians familiar with her style of speech. At the end of the speech, she received warm applause.
The Deutsche Welle wrote, “Merckle’s exciting speech in the Bundestag shows that she is fighting for the Germans with empathy. She is battling the coronavirus and the sluggish economy and trying to save thousands of lives. Merkel is not trying to put pressure on the governors of 16 states. She is talking directly with Germans who want to have a glass of red wine in public.
However, German media pointed out that although Merkel has always advocated decisive action, sometimes her policies are difficult to have an immediate effect because the 16 state governments in Germany decide to implement the policy.
10 years of winning the most influential woman
In 2005, Merkel became the first female prime minister in German history and was successfully re-elected in the 2009 and 2013 general elections. According to Der Spiegel, Germany, on the morning of October 29, 2018, Merkel announced that she would resign as Chancellor at the end of her 2021 term and would not seek a political position thereafter.
Recently, just as Merkel’s nearly 16 years of governing career are coming to an end, Merkel has won another international award.
On December 8th local time, Forbes magazine released a list of the world’s 100 most influential women, of which Merkel topped the list. Merkel has been selected on the list 15 times in history, which is the 10th consecutive year that Merkel has been elected to the top of the list.
On September 22, 2020, local time, Time magazine selected the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020, and Merkel ranked eighth in the leader column.
