WATCH: Merkel has third bout of shaking, says she's 'working through' issue

Published Jul 10, 2019

Share

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel

said she was "working through" a bout of shaking that first

occurred in mid-June and struck for the third time on Wednesday,

though she insisted she was fine and that "just as it happened

one day, so it will disappear".

Earlier, Merkel shook back and forth as she stood outside

and looked uncomfortable while watching a military ceremony

marking the arrival of visiting Finnish Prime Minister Antti

Rinne, who stood by her side.

After the first shaking episode, when she met visiting

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on June 18, Merkel said

she felt better after drinking some water.

"I am fine," Merkel told a news conference after Wednesday's

meeting with Rinne. 

"I have recently said that I am working

through what happened during the military honours with President

Zelenskiy."

Angela Merkel seen shaking for third time https://t.co/PqCEvw91GN pic.twitter.com/SFPq98Xb2A

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 10, 2019

"This process is clearly not finished yet but there is

progress and I must live with this for a while but I am very

well and you don't need to worry about me," she added.

"I believe that just as it happened one day, so it will

disappear. Otherwise I am convinced that I am quite capable (of

doing my job)," she said.

She gave no details of any medical advice or treatment she

has been given.

The chancellor, 64 and in office since 2005, has no history

of serious health issues. Her office has given no explanation

for the shaking episodes.

Medical experts have played down speculation about what

Merkel's ailment is, saying there are multiple potential causes

of tremor.

Germany's political establishment has observed a respectful

silence over the shaking, but mass-selling daily Bild asked

whether Merkel should say more about her health after the third

episode, arguing: "The silence, the dismissiveness is no longer

so easy to understand."

At Wednesday's news conference, Merkel was asked twice about

her health. In the follow-up question, pressed by Reuters on

whether she should be more transparent, she said: "I think that

my statement that I am fine can be accepted."

In the United States, portions of the results of the

president's annual medical examination is traditionally made

public, but in Germany, political leaders are generally expected

to enjoy more privacy around their health.

WORK ETHIC

Merkel was also seen shaking on June 27 when she met German

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier but her spokesman said she was

fine and she later went ahead with her planned trip to Japan for

a G20 summit. A government official told Reuters at the time

that that was more a psychological issue as she tried

desperately to avoid a repeat.

After her Japan trip, Merkel went straight into three days

of tortuous talks in Brussels to decide on a new group of

nominees for top European Union jobs - a package that has

strained her coalition government.

Merkel is renowned for her work ethic and has a reputation

for outlasting other leaders at EU summits with her ability to

focus on the details of complex discussions deep into the night.

In November 2016, when announcing that she would seek a

fourth term as chancellor, Merkel said: "It is a decision not

just for an election campaign but about the next four years ...

if health allows it."

Were Merkel to be incapacitated, Steinmeier would appoint a

cabinet minister as acting chancellor until parliament elects a

new chancellor. This need not be Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a

member of the Social Democrats - junior partner in Merkel's

ruling grand coalition.

In the past, Merkel has joked that she is a "sleep camel"

who can go days with just a few hours of sleep as long as she

gets a full night of sleep at the weekend. She is due to go on

holiday later in the summer.

Merkel has loomed large on the European stage since 2005,

helping guide the EU through the euro zone crisis and opening

Germany's doors in 2015 to migrants fleeing war in the Middle

East - a move that still divides the bloc and her country. 

Reuters

Related Topics: