Former chair of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has shared with the newspaper Die Welt that it was not always easy for him to work with outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Juncker was perturbed by what he called Merkel's inability to quickly switch to the immediate issues that the EU faced.
"I was sometimes angered by the fact that she needed so much time to land in the present, the immediate, after thinking about the end result".
Despite that, Juncker admitted that he will miss Merkel for many reasons, namely for her ability to listen to all members of the EU regardless of their size and "weight" in the bloc. He also praised Merkel for not trying to stand out and distinguish herself from other EU members.
The ex-EU Commission chief, who led the European body between 2014 and 2019 during a large immigration influx, added that he does not blame Merkel for any of the EU's shortcomings. Juncker noted that the said failings were the responsibility of all members. He stressed that Merkel did a lot of "right things" for the EU because she was "the right woman in the right place at the right moment".
Merkel is expected to leave her post in the coming week. Prior to the last general election, she announced her plans to leave politics. In September, her CDU and sister party CSU lost their dominant position in the Bundestag. As a result, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Olaf Scholz joined forces with the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) to form a new coalition government. Scholz is expected to replace Merkel as the new chancellor.