All Trumped out, as Frau Merkel sets determined new course REFIRE Comment

This was the week that a shaken Angela Merkel told her fellow citizens in a Munich beer hall that the EU must now be prepared to look after itself, and cast aside any expectations of solidarity with erstwhile partners the UK and the US.

After she’d had several days of enduring Donald Trump’s presence at close quarters, we were struck by the decisive tone in Merkel’s manner. The last vestiges of hope in salvaging something of the old order were – reluctantly – being wiped away. A line was being drawn.

Merkel and her ally Horst Seehofer, the Bavarian prime minister, raised their beer glasses in a toast, and buried any past hatchets between them. Their CDU/CSU alliance sent out a strong message of intent as to what we can expect in the run-up to September’s national elections. Barring a disaster, Merkel is on course to win again.