Berliners reacted to Angela Merkel’s announcement that she will not seek re-election as German Chancellor at the end of her current term in 2021, hours after she made her decision public on Monday.
“I have to say I find it very positive because the two big peoples’ parties, the SPD and CDU, are destroying themselves, putting stones in each other’s ways. In my opinion you cannot be surprised that two foolish parties, as I see them, like AfD and the Linke win the votes. It’s their own fault,” Berlin resident Torsten Schwarz said.
“She has been in power for a long time. Maybe it’s time for someone new,” added another resident Kerstin Schwarz said.
Another Berliner Thomas Pfau said: “She was in power long enough. And I think it’s about time that someone else gets the chance.”
Merkel’s announcement came following a string of poor results for her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party at the polls, culminating in state elections in Hesse on Sunday which saw her party’s share of the vote fall by 11.3 percent compared to the previous election in 2013.
Merkel was first elected as chancellor in 2005 and is set to end her fourth term in 2021.