My message to Merkel: 'Keep it up, Angela!'

HARDLY a day goes by when I am not asked by American, British or other non-German friends to confirm or deny that Angela Merkel will soon be removed from office. Those asking the questions are mostly in the same category as commentators who say that Europe could simply not get along without the German chancellor at the helm.

Their concerns often originate from the typical pessimism of the German press, which in the last few weeks has been full of dire news about the weakening of Ms Merkel's political position, including within her own Christian Democrat party, caused by massive flows of migrants into Germany.

My interlocutors want to know whether Germany will continue to take the lead in finding solutions to the dramatic effects of the "great migration". Or will populist forces carry the day?