The Merkel tremor opens the debate: until where goes the health of a leader

After the convulsions he suffered in the last days, he returned to appear seated to receive an agent; the discussion to find out if your state is an information of public interest is developing

PARIS.- Episodes are repeated with disturbing frequency. However, for most of their fellow citizens, the health of

Angela Merkel

, who is celebrating his 65th birthday today and
A month ago, he was the victim of strong shaking, "it is an exclusively private matter".

For the second time in a row, the German Chancellor sat yesterday receiving a foreign leader while the agreements of the national anthems sounded. This time, it was in the presence of the Moldovan Prime Minister, Maia Sandu. Last Thursday, it was held in the presence of his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen.

The most powerful woman in the world, who led the fate of Germany for 14 years, attempts to evoke the repeated and uncontrollable tremors that confronted her three times in three weeks during the public ceremonies that brought the Planet to question their health status and reopening the debate about the extent to which the health of a leader is public or private information. For her and her team, however, "everything is fine". And for 59% of Germans, these convulsions correspond "to the private sphere" of the Chancellor, according to a survey of the Civey Institute. Only 34% consider that their health is a matter of public interest and ask them to publish a detailed medical bulletin.

In discovering these results, Merkel will have probably thought that the investigation would validate its own communication strategy, the Chancellor having been so far evasive as to the origin of these earthquakes.

Merkel attributed the origin of these episodes to dehydration and then to her psychological after-effects. Questioned on several occasions, the Chancellor said that she was aware of her responsibilities. "But I also have every interest in being healthy and taking care of myself," he said.

His answers have not surprised anyone. Merkel's brief communication, which has always defended the respect of her private life, is not only perfectly true to her nature, but polls have just shown that the Chancellor is also on the same wavelength as German culture on the subject.

"In the Federal Republic, it is good taste not to speculate publicly on the health of its political leaders," said the weekly.
Der Spiegel. In reality, in this country, the history of foreign ministers is full of little lies.

"When Helmut Khol was hospitalized for a knee operation, his environmental pretense was" a cold, "the usual excuse of a sick chancellor," the newspaper joked.
Der Tagesspiegel.

In the case of Konrad Adenauer, this argument concealed pneumonia and concealed the fainting of Helmut Schmit, while Willy Brandt's depression was a state secret until his resignation.

The debate on the state of health of leaders is regularly discussed. In the United States, the health status of Donald Trump, the oldest president in office, is under close scrutiny. In France, public opinion has not been able to solve the problem for nearly 40 years. After the death of President Georges Pompidou in 1974 of a blood cancer he had managed to conceal for two years and that Francois Mitterrand had hidden for a long time. prostate cancer, which would lead him to the grave.

Whatever the case may be, in France as in Germany, medical secrecy is sacred: political leaders have no legal obligation to publish their state of health.

This was confirmed by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, when he took office: "I will apply the right that I recognize to each French to benefit from medical secrecy, but I will publish without hesitation any information likely to have consequences on my ability to lead the country ".

German media and badysts are now wondering how long the Chancellor can keep his discretion. Since its third earthquake, July 10, the debate between two antagonistic lines has grown.

On one side, those who consider Merkel's explanations sufficient. "In a free society, no one, not even the chancellor, should be forced to react about his physical or mental state, much less to publish a document about it," wrote Lisa Caspari, deputy editor-in-chief of l & # 39; weekly.
Die Zeit. "So far, nothing indicates that his ability to govern has been affected, he has never seemed distracted or absent at a press conference," he said. concluded.

Others are not satisfied with the Chancellor's explanations. "Your comments are not information," wrote Gordon Repinski, deputy editor of the agency.
Redaktions Netzwerk Deutschland. "An illness becomes a political problem when it is no longer certain that a leader has all the energy necessary to fulfill his mission," he explained.

The debates do nothing to ease the pressure exerted by Angela Merkel, who announced last October that he would step down from politics after the end of his term in 2021. After a series of electoral failures, his government formed a coalition with the social democrats. explode before the next elections and the Chancellor knows that no one has been able to replace her to this day.