Researcher: Angela Merkel's Departure Means Europe is Losing Its Greatest Bulwark Against Nativism

When Angela Merkel was elected to the helm of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), 9/11 hadn’t happened, the Lehman Brothers still existed, and the release of the first iPhone was seven years away. Eighteen years on, after winning four elections as German Chancellor, Merkel announced on Oct. 29 that she will step down as the chair of her party in December. With that, the leader who had come to be known as "Mutti" (Mommy) to Germans, entered the twilight of her career.