Whereas electorates across the European Union have punished their governments for the Great Recession and the euro crisis, Germans reelected Chancellor Angela Merkel and displayed strong support for her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in the recent election. Indeed, as with postwar Germany’s first leader, Konrad Adenauer, there are jokes about Merkel being Chancellor for life (Germany has no term limits).
德国的特立独行显而易见。在欧盟选民为经济萧条及欧债危机而惩罚政府时，默克尔却在德国竞选连任。德国人在最近的选举中坚决支持默克尔所在的基督教民主联盟（CDU）。其实有玩笑认为默克尔会像战后德国首任领袖康拉德·阿登纳一样终身担任总理职务（德国并没有设立任期限制）。