Angela Merkel's New Year's address: "Germany will only thrive in the long term if Europe thrives too."

Both Chancellor Angela Merkel and Berlin’s Governing Mayor Michael Müller delivered their traditional new year’s speeches today. While Merkel mentioned a long list of subjects she intends to work on, including the fight against global warming, Müller said he wanted to give a high priority to housing in 2020, Berlin’s gravest problem.

"Germany will only thrive in the long term if Europe thrives too."

Angela Merkel's New Year's address: 'The 2020's can be good years'.

https://youtu.be/SUtSX2kZDV8

The German chancellor struck an encouraging tone in what is likely to be one of her last New Year's addresses. Merkel addressed the challenges of the climate crisis, digitalization and migration.

In her 15th such address, Merkel stated climate change was real, man-made and threatening. Because of her age, she would probably not experience the gravest consequences of global warming, she told the Germans. Everything humanly possible needed to be done in order to meet this challenge for humanity.

The Chancellor also thanked local politicians and others who had taken responsibility in Germany in 2019. And she mentioned a big problem Germany has, namely hatred. The state needed to protect its citizens against violence, racism and antisemitism. Migration was yet another subject she talked about. A cooperation with African states was important in this regard.

“The 2020 can be good years”, Merkel stated. Germany needed to use its strengths to make sure they would. She stressed it was important that people had good and safe jobs in the future as well, and pensions they could rely on. Digitization included challenges that needed to be met.

In her speech, the chancellor referred to recently passed laws designed to help decrease Germany’s carbon emissions — regulations that many have criticized as being too weak, but which Ms. Merkel says lay the framework needed to take effective environmental action.

“We need, now more than ever, the courage to think in new ways, the strength to leave well-trodden paths, the readiness to venture into new territory and the resolve to act more quickly,” she said, adding that it was essential to do so “if a good life on this planet is to be possible for today’s young people and those who come after them.”