> Merkel cynically said her party is now against nuclear power
There is nothing cynical about it (except your judgment of it). She admits to following opinion polls on important issues like this. In the days after Fukushima, the opinion polls regarding nuclear power moved from 50:50 to a majority in favor of ending nuclear power.
Same thing with gay marriage: As soon as she saw support for it growing far enough that it could threaten her party's position in the federal elections, she changed her stance from "never" to "let the representatives decide", leading to a nonpartisan bill passing the parliament with overwhelming majority.
Same thing with "Wir schaffen das": Her actions regarding the 2015 refugee influx were (at least partially) motivated by stronger-than-expected support for refugee-friendly policies in the population.
Say what you want about Merkel, but there is an argument to be made that by closely monitoring opinion polls, her government is more democratic than otherwise. (There are obvious flaws in this argument, which is why I don't endorse it.)
I'm not an expert in politics and governing, but that seems like a horrible way to run a democracy: with zero conviction of what is just (e.g. for the gays) but only with your ear to "what is popular"? There's even a term for it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyranny_of_the_majority
I've always thought her motivation in 2015 was because she didn't want to be seen in history as a monster, I didn't know about the poll numbers. But what if the majority said "Refugees stay out!"? If I were a political leader, I would still let them in and try to appeal to my population about being humane, if I just looked at the poll numbers and they say "close the borders" and I just followed that, I would not be able to sleep at night.
I've read an article that asked what she has accomplished for the nation, and the author concluded her only mission is political survival.
There is nothing cynical about it (except your judgment of it). She admits to following opinion polls on important issues like this. In the days after Fukushima, the opinion polls regarding nuclear power moved from 50:50 to a majority in favor of ending nuclear power.
Same thing with gay marriage: As soon as she saw support for it growing far enough that it could threaten her party's position in the federal elections, she changed her stance from "never" to "let the representatives decide", leading to a nonpartisan bill passing the parliament with overwhelming majority.
Same thing with "Wir schaffen das": Her actions regarding the 2015 refugee influx were (at least partially) motivated by stronger-than-expected support for refugee-friendly policies in the population.
Say what you want about Merkel, but there is an argument to be made that by closely monitoring opinion polls, her government is more democratic than otherwise. (There are obvious flaws in this argument, which is why I don't endorse it.)