On the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit last month, Chancellor Angela Merkel warned her likely successor that the COVID-19 pandemic might require tougher curbs. Olaf Scholz brushed aside the proposal — and Germany is now paying the price.
At the Rome meeting in late October where Merkel introduced Scholz to other world leaders, she proposed convening the premiers of Germany’s 16 states to coordinate a response to rising COVID-19 infections. He dismissed it as unnecessary, according to people familiar with the discussions.
A lack of leadership in Europe’s largest economy has paved the way for a brutal outbreak and threatens to cloud the start of Scholz’s tenure, weakening him before his administration really gets started. The surge in infections is denting the public mood as Scholz prepares to assume control, fueling frustration with people sick of COVID-19 restrictions and casting a pall over the prospects for economic recovery.