COVID-19 pandemic made my last year in office the toughest: Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in her last New Year address to the nation, said that the COVID-19 pandemic made her last year in the office the "toughest". "The coronavirus pandemic was and is the political, social and economic challenge of the century," she added. Merkel further said the start of vaccinations against COVID-19 made 2021 a year of hope. 