German Chancellor Angela Merkel attracted the spotlight in the midst of the Corona epidemic, and the German people's support for her party in opinion polls rose at an unprecedented rate, against the background of praise for her handling of the crisis.
As long as Merkel (65 years) was known for her competence in managing internal crises, and at the European level in general, while preserving her calm, sobriety and sometimes silence, but this time, she chose to send a televised speech to the German nation followed by millions, a step that she had not previously made during her leadership period Continued for 14 years.
The German leader also doubled her press conferences, in which she spoke about accurate details of the general quarantine measures, before she announced that she herself entered a self-stone in her home after mixing with a doctor infected with the emerging coronavirus, which was met with widespread sympathy from the Germans.
Since then, Merkel has continued to run the country remotely, and in an audio recording she expressed the difficulty of quarantining and the absence of mixing with ministers and advisers.
"Unfortunately, the daily number of new infections does not allow us to reduce the measures," she said in her daily speech on Saturday morning.
But despite the spread of the epidemic, and the registration of about four thousand new infections daily, Germany appears less affected than some of its neighbors, especially in terms of the number of deaths.
In light of disagreements between European countries over dealing with the Corona epidemic, and Italian complaints about its neighbors being let down, a writer for the Financial Times said that the "sober" advisor is the leader that Europe needs in the midst of its worst peacetime crises.
Polls
Within Germany, Merkel's conservatives, once again, had lost much of their popularity.
And the Christian Democratic Party - led by Merkel - made a seven-point jump in the latest political opinion poll conducted by "ZDF", which is unprecedented progress in the history of this poll; thus, the conservatives won about 35% of the intentions of the vote.
And the head of the "Bavarian state" Marcus Soder has made great progress in opinion polls, and this politician - who oversees a state severely affected by Corona - has become the most popular figure after Merkel, and the Germans praise the speedy adoption of Bavaria's stone measures.
The right-wing National Alternative for Germany party appears to be the most prominent loser of the situation, as the fortunes of the party, which is witnessing an internal conflict with its most militant wing, have fallen below 10%.
In its editorial today, Saturday, the Der Spiegel newspaper said, "There is a return to strange virtues for the Alternative Party for Germany: solidarity, merit, precaution and confidence in power," but she expressed her fear that the party will return to the forefront in the event of an economic and social crisis.