Angela Merkel surprised observers with an eclectic choice of music for her farewell (AFP/John MACDOUGALL)More
Thu, December 2, 2021
With a hit by the "godmother of punk" Nina Hagen, Germany's military saluted a visibly moved Angela Merkel during a ceremonial farewell Thursday, just a week before she is due to bow out of politics after 16 years in office.
Soldiers in full regalia and carrying flaming torches took part in the carefully choreographed evening event, accompanied by a marching band performing traditional military music and Merkel's own playlist.
The ceremonial send-off came just days before Germany's parliament is due to officially elect Social Democrat Olaf Scholz as Merkel's replacement, putting the centre-left politician in charge after 16 years of conservative-led rule.
At the ceremony, Merkel said her four terms were "eventful and often very challenging years.
"They have challenged me politically and humanly and at the same time, they were also fulfilling."
Alluding to the challenge of countering fake news as Germany fights the relentless coronavirus pandemic, she underlined the "great significance of trust in politics, science and societal discourse -- and also how fragile all that is".
Stressing that democracies live on "solidarity and trust -- also from trust in facts", she said that where scientific facts were being denied and where conspiracy theories abound, they must be energetically countered.
- 'Highlight of my youth' -
Known for her regular attendance at Bayreuth opera festival, dedicated to the composer Richard Wagner, Merkel had surprised military band leaders and political commentators alike with her unusual playlist for the military pomp.
While Helmut Kohl opted for Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" and Gerhard Schroeder plumped for Frank Sinatra's "My Way" when it was their turn to bow out, Merkel chose East German pop song "Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen" (You forgot the colour film) by Nina Hagen.
Asked at a press conference Thursday about the pick, Merkel said it harked back to her younger days in communist East Germany.
"The song was a highlight of my youth... The song also came from East Germany and, coincidentally, it is still played in a region that used to be my constituency. So everything fits today," the 67-year-old said.
Hagen, who began her career in the East, emigrated to West Germany and became a leading figure in the punk scene of the 1980s.
In the song, Hagen complains that because her boyfriend forgot to bring colour film for the camera on their holiday, "no one would believe how beautiful it was here".
An orchestral arrangement of the song, first released in 1974, was specially written by a music corps clarinetist for the ceremony.
While few were surprised by Merkel's pick of the hymn "Grosser Gott, wir loben dich" (Holy God, we praise thy name), commentators also raised their eyebrows over the third song, touching sixties ballad "Fuer mich soll's rote Rosen regen" (It should rain red roses for me) by Hildegard Knef.
The tear-jerker is "unexpectedly sentimental for a woman with the sensible, pragmatic style of government," noted Spiegel.
Its lyrics may hint at Merkel's future, said Spiegel, citing the stanza: "Let it rain red roses for me, let me encounter new wonders, let me unfold anew from the old."
Her choices reflected Merkel's ability to "send messages better with gestures than with words", the German Sueddeutsche daily wrote.
The veteran leader, who once said her dream back behind the Iron Curtain had been "to see the Rocky Mountains, drive around in a car and listen to Bruce Springsteen," has been tight-lipped about what she'll do next.
But she has said she pictures herself reading and maybe taking "a little nap".
The military ceremony, known as a "grosser Zapfenstreich", has its origins in the 16th century and is the highest tribute paid by the German army.
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Angela Merkel's surprising choice of farewell music
On Thursday an elaborate military ceremony will bid Chancellor Angela Merkel farewell. One song chosen by Merkel for the occasion, by punk legend Nina Hagen, has surprised many.
Merkel leaves office after 16 years
Angela Merkel is finally bidding farewell to the office of German chancellor after 16 years in the top job.
Although she will remain in office on an interim basis until the next chancellor is confirmed, Thursday evening will see her attend a military tattoo in her honour.
The so-called "Großer Zapfenstreich" is the highest military ceremony in Germany and comes complete with a torchlight procession, soldiers performing music and marching with clockwork precision.
Like her predecessors, Merkel has been allowed to request three songs for the military marching band to play.
Two are unlikely to raise eyebrows: The 18th-century Christian hymn "Großer Gott, wir loben dich" ("Holy God, We Praise Thy Name") — likely a nod to her political party's Christian roots and her upbringing with a Protestant pastor for a father.
The other is the popular song by German singer Hildegard Knef "Für mich, soll's rote Rosen regnen" ("It should rain red roses for me"). It's a wistful tune about teenage dreams and ambition, with lyrics such as "I want all or nothing."
Anthem by punk legend Nina Hagen
Yet one song chosen by the chancellor may come as a surprise to many — the 1974 East German hit sung by punk rocker Nina Hagen, "Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen" ("You forgot the color film").
An iconoclastic pop star back in the German Democratic Republic, Nina Hagen became the punk icon of West Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
It's a unique selection, not least because Merkel has rarely referred to her East German upbringing in Templin, a town in the region of Brandenburg in the former East. During her youth she listened to the song in which Hagen sings an angry lament to her boyfriend for only taking black and white film on a vacation.
It was such a hit at the time that many who lived in the former East still remember the lyrics, especially the famous line: "No one will believe how beautiful it was here."
Although it was not censored by the government, the song was widely understood as a criticism of the dark and drab German Democratic Republic, where color film was a rare commodity.
The choice could finally see Merkel revealing her "Ostalgie" — nostalgia for East Germany. Or perhaps the chancellor was showing her humorous side.
In fact, around 30 years ago, Angela Merkel, then federal minister for women and youth, met Nina Hagen on a TV talk show. During a discussion about drug addiction, Hagen blew up at her on camera: "I'm fed up with your lying, with your hypocrisy" she said. Merkel has likely since forgiven her.
A military farewell with a long history
Bidding farewell to German chancellors, presidents and defense ministers with a military tattoo is a tradition dating back to the 16th century. Back then the ceremony in military camps was marked by much drinking and gambling.
A routine had to be introduced to signal the end of the festivities: An officer or sergeant, accompanied by a drummer and a piper, walked through the camp and struck the taps of alcohol barrels with his saber or baton, meaning no more beer, schnapps or wine could be served. Those who did not comply were subject to severe punishment.
'COVER GIRL' CHANCELLOR: ANGELA MERKEL IN THE PRESS
Euro branding iron or whip?
In 2011, in the midst of the euro crisis, the Spanish satirical magazine "El Jueves" portrays the German chancellor as a tough dominatrix. "(Euro) branding iron or whip?" she asks Spain's head of government, Mariano Rajoy. "It depends," he whimpers back. With the cartoon, the magazine wanted to highlight the very strict conditions via which Merkel would grant Spain financial aid.
Down the years, the "Zapfenstreich" has developed into the ceremony it is today. However, some see it as an inappropriate adherence to symbolism that dates back to darker times.
For example, when German soldiers returning from Afghanistan this year were met by a torchlight military procession featuring hundreds of steel helmets gleaming in front of the Reichstag, some critics said it reminded them of Nazi marches.
Playlists of the past
In recent decades. the music requests have lightened up the ceremony. Former Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere, for example, had 1985 euro dance hit "Life is Life" by the band Opus on his playlist — a song popular with German vacationers in the party hotspots of Mallorca.
When President Christian Wulff had to resign from his office after just 20 months following a scandal, he was met with the jarring sound of vuvuzelas played by spectators venting their displeasure. The Bundeswehr orchestra bravely played "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" in an attempt to drown out the noise.
Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder challenged the orchestra with the 1920s ballad "Mack the Knife" from Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's "The Threepenny Opera," and George Gershwin's "Summertime." Schröder was also ridiculed for his choice of the languorous Sinatra classic, "My Way".
Yet one song seems to be a favorite among outgoing politicians: The anthem "Ode to Joy" by Ludwig van Beethoven. It's been requested three times, including by former German Defense Minister and current President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Hopes for the future
The closing lyrics of Hildegard Knef's "It should rain red roses for me," chosen by Angela Merkel for this week's farewell ceremony, perhaps indicate something of the chancellor's hopes for the future: "I should submit, be content … I still want to win; want all or nothing."
Angela Merkel will retire from politics when she leaves office. But, if the song's lyrics are any clue, it's far from the end of the 67-year-old's journey.
Angela Merkel honored by German
military with punk rock sendoff
By Nadine Schmidt, CNN 2 hrs ago
Germany's military honored Chancellor Angela Merkel with their highest ceremony for a civilian on Thursday, complete with an eclectic mix of music personally selected by the outgoing leader and punctuated by an emotional speech.
During the "Großer Zapfenstreich," or the Grand Tattoo ceremony -- which was pared back due to the Covid-19 pandemic -- members of the armed forces played a 1960s song that includes the words "I can't acquiesce, can't make do, I still want to win," and the song "You Forgot The Color Film," which was first performed by East German punk artist Nina Hagen, Reuters reported.
Merkel is due to officially step down next week after 16 years in office. She will be succeeded by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, who is expected to be sworn in as chancellor after lawmakers give him the final green light.
In a heartfelt speech at the ceremony in Berlin, Merkel said that her time in power had "challenged" her both politically and personally.
"But at the same time, it was a deeply satisfying position," she said.
She also thanked frontline workers for their efforts throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and applauded the country's ability to engage in constructive pro-democratic discourse throughout the last two years.
''Our democracy lives from the capacity to engage critically with the ideas and to correct its path and it lives from balancing out the respect that we have for one another and for the interest we have for one another -- based on solidarity, and trust -- and also trusting in facts and trusting that wherever scientific understanding is denied and conspiracy theories are pursued and incitement to hatred is pursued. ''
Merkel also said that the pandemic has demonstrated "just how important trust in politicians, in science and in public discourse and society is. But also just how fragile those things can be."
She concluded her speech saying that it was now down to the next government ''to find answers that challenge us," and wished her successor the very best in leading Germany into the future.
Merkel, 67, grew up under Communism in East Germany, and trained as a scientist, earning a doctorate in quantum chemistry before making a move into politics following the fall of the Berlin Wall. She won a seat in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, in the first election after reunification.
She has navigated Germany and Europe through multiple crises over her tenure and has been hailed as a champion of liberal values and a stalwart of democratic values by supporters.
But while Merkel is seen as a bold and accomplished crisis manager, critics say she risked alienating the conservative voter base of her own party, the CDU, by taking left-of-center positions on key topics including nuclear energy, foreign policy and immigration.
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