German Merkel attends hymns after episodes of shaking

BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the visiting Danish Prime Minister listened to the national anthem of their country at a ceremony in Berlin on Thursday, a day after Merkel trembled as she went to Berlin. was faced with a similar event during the last of three incidents that preoccupied her. health.

Merkel showed no sign of instability or other health problems as she sat next to new Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in front of the Berlin Chancellery, an unusual arrangement at a military honors ceremony aimed at prevent the possibility of another highly publicized episode.

Merkel was shaken Wednesday alongside the Finnish Prime Minister at the same place.

She then suggested that the subsequent impact of the first tremor episode in mid-June was psychological, explaining that she "will have to live with him for a while," but there is nothing to worry about. Merkel said the first incident on June 18 may have been caused by dehydration on a hot day.

The health of personalities is generally considered a private matter in Germany and there has been little reason, until recent weeks, to ask questions about the health of a leader who has a long-standing reputation in endurance matter. The privacy laws of the country are very strict regarding this personal information.

Merkel, who will turn 65 next week, has also maintained a busy schedule lately, participating in a summit of the Group of 20 in Japan and a marathon summit of the European Union. Sunday, she must attend the military parade of the annual national holiday of France.

At a press conference after Thursday's meeting with Frederiksen, Merkel dismissed the question of a German journalist about whether she had consulted her doctors and, if so, what would have been the results.

"You can badume that, first, I am aware of the responsibility of my office and act accordingly, including with regard to my health," she replied. "And second, you can badume that my personal interest is also to be in good health and take care of my health."

When asked what her 65th birthday was going to be like for her, Merkel, smiling, said, "It means that you are not rejuvenating, but perhaps more experienced. Everything has its good side. "

The three incidents in which all of Merkel's body trembled in public took place while she stood still without speaking and ended immediately when she started walking. Merkel also showed no signs of tremor or instability when speaking in front of Parliament or, as at the press conference on Thursday, behind a lectern.

The recent series of incidents has raised concerns in the German media – relatively subdued by the standards of many other countries, but somewhat unusual for Germany – about Merkel's health, but do not dominate the coverage of the news in the country.

Politicians of all stripes largely avoided the question or, if they answered at all, expressed support for the way she was treated by Merkel.

Simone Peter, a former leader of the opposition Greens, tweeted Merkel on Thursday when she heard the hymns sitting on a chair: "That's fine, and the Danish Prime Minister has the empathy and courtesy to proof of solidarity. "

"Everyone should do that and recognize that extremely stressful work can also leave their mark," she added.

Merkel, who has been leading Germany since November 2005, said last year that she would not seek a fifth term as Chancellor or any other political post after the end of her current term in 2021. .

She gave up the leadership of her center-right party after two poor results in the legislative elections that followed her government's eventful start for a fourth term.

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