Angela Merkel made her public appearance on Tuesday for the first time since she left office around six months ago. In an interview, Merkel also commented on her tremors.
The former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) attributes her seizures in the last few years of her chancellorship to the death of her mother, among other things. She was very exhausted at the time, and death had affected her more than she initially thought, Merkel said in an interview with journalist Alexander Osang on Tuesday evening. Her mother died in April 2019.
In 2019, Merkel suffered three tremors in just three weeks, most recently when she received Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne. She was fine, she said at the time. And further: “You don’t have to worry.” She rejected any doubts about her ability to work as head of the federal government: “Otherwise I am firmly convinced that I can perform well.”
At the time, Merkel justified the seizure by saying that she was still in the “processing phase” of a seizure three weeks ago when she received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Obviously it’s not quite over yet, but there’s progress. And I have to live with that for a while now,” said Merkel. “I believe that one day it will go the way it came. But it’s not that far yet.”
In total, Merkel suffered four tremors in public during her tenure. She was first caught in Mexico City in 2017 at a reception by then-President Enrique Peña Nieto. Back then, too, Merkel’s legs were clearly trembling when the national anthem was played – until she was able to walk off to walk through the formation of honour.
At that time, lack of water was given as an explanation. This was also the case with the seizure she suffered in mid-June when she received Selenskyj in front of the Chancellery in the great heat. Just nine days later, the chancellor was trembling when Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier appointed the new Minister of Justice, Christine Lambrecht (SPD), at Bellevue Palace – at moderate temperatures.
