Merkel managed Greece’s economic crisis this past summer and spearheaded during the new wave of terrorism in Europe as well this fall’s rush of refugees.
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Nancy Gibbs, the editor of TIME wrote that the Chancellor was awarded the title for “asking more of her country than most politicians would dare, for standing firm against tyranny as well as expedience and for providing steadfast moral leadership in a world where it is in short supply”. “They picked person who is ruining Germany”, he tweeted.
However, many would disagree with Time’s appraisal. Hugh Bronson, vice-chair of the eurosceptic Alternative for Germany party told RT.
The magazine said the German chancellor had “stepped in” every time a serious crisis had threatened European statecraft this year.
Her oratory is often monotonous and she is awkward in front of the cameras, but it is this air of ordinariness that has made Merkel a hit with German voters, who value no-nonsense pragmatism and competence.
“It’s pretty easily Angela Merkel”, he said, describing her as “the de facto leader of the European Union” by virtue of being leader of the EU’s largest and most economically powerful member state.
The other candidates for 2015 were Caitlyn Jenner, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the Black Lives Matter protest movement, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Amazingly, this is the first time in almost 30 years that a woman has earned the title.
“Everything about Trump is a challenge, a test. In times of trial and desperation, when institutions fail, insecurity mounts and need arises, even the most enlightened democratic states can turn inward and break against themselves”, Time said about Trump, referring to his populist rhetoric and defiant behavior.
Republican presidential hopeful and real-estate magnate Donald Trump has criticized TIME magazine for its choice in the Person of the Year competition.
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Merkel, 61, is just the fourth woman since 1927 to be chosen and the first since opposition leader Corazon C. Aquino of the Philippines in 1986.
