The Gardener and the Border
Angela Merkel tends her Uckermark garden these days, but her mind still grapples with thorns she couldn't prune—Europe's migration crisis. "If we want to keep Schengen's advantages," she warns in her first major interview since leaving office, "we must think European." The irony isn't lost: Germany's 'Wir schaffen das' architect now watches as nations rebuild walls she fought to dismantle.
The Schengen Stress Test
Her words land like stones in a pond:
- On unilateral border controls: "Does Europe grow stronger when Germany acts alone?"
- On the AFD's rise: "A danger to democracy"—yet her former constituency just elected them
- On COVID restrictions: "I never dreamed I'd limit freedoms"
Each admission reveals the tightrope Europe walks: preserve free movement or bow to populism?
The Legacy Question
Merkel's final warning cuts deepest: "Schengen requires shared solutions, even when difficult." But as Poland fortifies its Belarus border and Italy strikes deals with Libya, her vision of collective action feels increasingly nostalgic. The woman who welcomed a million refugees now watches fences rise across the continent she sought to unite.
Will Europe choose solidarity—or surrender to the death of a thousand border checks?