Angela Merkel is barely seen in public, and no one seeks the former chancellor’s advice or judgment on the current world situation. He left behind a pile of shards. It does nothing about Germany’s energy dependence on Russia. He put the digitalization of the country to sleep. Infrastructure and public facilities fall apart. In 2015, he generously welcomed refugees, especially from Syria, but then didn’t care what to do next, the analysis calculated. And his successor Olaf Scholze (SPD) and his government are in the middle of it all.

Germans are currently the most bothered by the energy crisis, and they blame the policies of the former chancellor for the current state of affairs. Almost every third of Germans (32 percent) demanded an apology from the former chancellor for his energy policy failures. These are the results of an INSA survey for the most read German daily Bild.

AfD voters hold the biggest grudge against Merkel. Exactly 52 percent demanded an apology. The second angry group in Germany are Green voters (34 percent). 38 percent of respondents did not demand an apology. The rest did not want to comment.

The former president isn’t necessarily responsible for bad policy decisions, but for what he didn’t do. It’s easy to accuse him of misjudging Russian President Vladimir Putin and downplaying the danger. So do almost all Western politicians. What can be blamed on him, however, is that he imposed on the German people that he could not expect much from them as a nation. The days when such a policy was possible are finally over, says the analysis.

Perhaps the historic decision against Merkel will be better if the West manages to survive this crisis, the worst since World War II. The months that have passed since Merkel left the chancellery have fundamentally changed the country. The economy and society are deeply troubled and look to the future with dread. This is not Merkel’s fault. But it’s clear what he could achieve with a little courage during his 16 years in power.