As she begins her visit to India on Sunday night, there will be a special symbolism to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s first engagement, the traditional wreath laying at India’s apostle of peace Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial, Rajghat. That’s because Ms. Merkel is being considered the frontrunner in the race for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, due to be announced on October 9.
The award comes a year after the Nobel Committee announced the first Indian and Pakistani winners: Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai. Confirming that her name is among the strongest of 273 nominations this year, the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) said in a release that Ms. Merkel was on the top of their list “for her response to the refugee crisis”. Referring to Ms. Merkel’s bold position to accept lakhs of refugees from Iraq and Syria, in the teeth of domestic opposition as well as the misgivings of Germany’s European neighbours, the Director of PRIO, Kristen Harpeviken told The Hindu that Ms. Merkel had responded with “humane courage”. “This year is marked by a global migration crisis, and Merkel has done more than anyone to change the debate,” Mr. Harpeviken, who predicted Malala’s win last year, wrote in an e-mail reply.
According to the German office for migration, the country has seen 2,57,000 asylum seekers between January and August 2015, and is expecting as many as 8,00,000 by the end of the year. While many countries such as Hungary have flatly refused to help out any more with the large numbers, Ms. Merkel has insisted that Germany remain “open for refugees”, announcing an outlay of 6.6 billion euros to fund their stay. During her visit to Delhi to chair the Inter-Governmental Commission that she pioneered, Ms. Merkel is expected to discuss both the situation in West Asia as well as Afghanistan, where Germany is a key donor and provider of forces.
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“She is at the peak of her leadership this year, driving Europe’s policies on all important issues, including the Greek debt situation, Ukraine, and the refugee crisis,” says former Ambassador Meera Shankar, who served as India’s envoy to Germany from 2005-2009, arriving just as Ms. Merkel took charge as Chancellor. “It is hard to believe now how dismissive everyone was when she was chosen as the first woman Chancellor in a still patriarchal Germany, and coming from East Germany at that,” Ms Shankar said.
Diplomats say, apart from welcoming refugees, Ms. Merkel has also played a role in being the “bridge builder” in international conflicts. When the U.S. and all Western countries boycotted the Russian 70th Victory Day celebrations in May 2015, because of President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine, Ms. Merkel was the exception, who made a short visit to pay her respects to Russian soldiers who died in World War II.
She has also been a key interlocutor on the talks between Iran and the P-5+EU, and sent her Vice Chancellor to Teheran in June to hold talks with President Rouhani’s government. At the same time, she is one of the few popular international leaders, and will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin as soon as she returns from India this week. As a result, Ms. Merkel won a particularly warm reception at the UNGA this year, where she was seen admonishing Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg for “racist anti-immigration posts” on the social network. “Angela Merkel has become a moral symbol for Europe,” said popular U2 singer Bono in an interview last month.
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Ms. Merkel will land in Delhi on Sunday night, and travel to Bangalore for business-related engagements on Tuesday.