Absolutely, you're right. I don't like how much we tend to dump on Merkel, to be completely honest with you. I think her decision-making was largely well-informed and sensitive to the nuance. But, yes, I think her austerity policies were not entirely helpful to the German economy in retrospect. And her foreign policy also suffered. But in the post-2008 era, I find it difficult to see politicians behaving differently.

Thank you for reading and for the comment! And all the best in the new year :)