Merkel painting exhibition in Berlin attracts huge crowds and show extended until January

Bright blue jacket, black pants, and well-known hairstyle. "She's actually here," says a woman as she glances at Angela Merkel's official portrait as chancellor at Berlin's Bode Museum. The painting, painted by artist Jeremy Queras, attracted a surprisingly large number of visitors, prompting the museum to extend its display for an additional three months, until January 3, instead of the previously scheduled date. On Sunday (October 4, 2026), Merkel signed postcards bearing the image of the painting.

Long line to get Merkel's signature

Merkel sat next to the artist in front of the same painting, while the turnout seemed very large. The queue in front of the signing table extended to the entrance of the museum, although some attendees confirmed that they came specifically for the exhibition. According to a museum spokesman, about 450 tickets were available for the signing session, including about 300 tickets for advance reservation, and they were all sold out within a few hours.

About five years after leaving her position as chancellor, Merkel (72 years old) appears to have returned strongly to the public scene. In February, she again attended the CDU party conference and received a warm reception. Then rumors spread, which were quickly denied, about the possibility of her assuming the position of President of the Republic, succeeding current President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, or playing a mediating role in the Ukrainian war. It also appeared in digital exhibitions, in meetings with young people, and even on the TikTok platform.

And of course, she continued her tours to promote her autobiography. According to the publishing house, more than one million copies of her 736-page book entitled “Freedom” have been sold around the world. Hundreds still come to her readings and signing sessions. The question is: Why all this attendance for Merkel and the public interest in her?

Calm and feeling safe

“Angela Merkel always impressed me with her calmness, the way she dealt with men like Putin without any emotion,” says Marlene Hahnemann, who attended one of Merkel's readings at the Peenemünde Historical and Technical Museum. She adds: "Also, the way you calmly led our country, at least from an outside point of view, gave me a great feeling of security." She continues: "I always thought she knew very well how she should make her decisions."

In the front rows, Annette Lormann sat next to her husband, and her point of view was similar. She said: “I still admire Mrs. Merkel and what she has achieved, and the path of her life.” It is true that everyone who holds public office may make mistakes, but “what I accomplished during the Corona crisis and the refugee crisis is something that is not easy for anyone else to achieve better.” She is happy to see the former chancellor directly in person for the first time.

"Moderation and centrism"

When Merkel appeared on stage, this time she was wearing a blue jacket. She waved to the audience and then sat down at the reading table. For 90 minutes, she spoke in the familiar tone that Germans had known during her 16 years of rule. She moved between her childhood in Templin and her arrival at the Chancellery, passing through her saying, “We can accomplish this,” and the crisis of the rise of the Alternative for Germany party, all the way to Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the Corona pandemic.

The public applauded her very warmly when she called for the defense of democracy, and when she sent a message to her successors saying: “Moderation and centrism are the basis and precondition for the success of democratic parties.”

A difficult challenge for Friedrich Merz

For current Chancellor Friedrich Merz, such advice represents a difficult challenge. The leader of the Christian Democratic Union consciously wanted to take a different approach, and promised to bring about major change and renewal. But a little more than a year after taking office, his popularity has fallen to historic lows. According to a poll conducted for the German Channel 1 (ARD), nine out of ten participants (90 percent) expressed their dissatisfaction or very dissatisfaction with Meretz’s performance.

The AfD also overtook the Christian Democratic Union in national opinion polls. Meretz is struggling to maintain his political power, while facing repeated disagreements with his coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party.

Meretz's fatal mistake

“When people today are asked to compare, the majority say that Merez does not rule the country any better than his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, whom he constantly criticized,” says Peter Matuszek, executive director of the Forza polling institute.

He adds: "As for Merkel, the evaluation in her favor is much clearer. Perhaps nostalgia for the past plays a role here, but the truth is that during her years in power she also enjoyed very high approval ratings."

Matusek believes that Meretz's bet on a return to the "pure Christian Democratic Union" and a more conservative and distinct approach was a fatal mistake. He says: “At the voter level, this approach has completely reversed. Even in the last elections that Merkel ran, the party obtained approximately 33 percent of the votes, while in the February 2025 elections, the Christian Union led by Meretz achieved only 28.6 percent. As for current polls, the percentage of support ranges between 18 and 20 percent.

A matter of style

It is true that circumstances today are different, as the war in Ukraine and the Middle East continues, the parliamentary majority in Berlin is more fragile, and the political atmosphere is more tense, but despite this, some members of the Christian Democratic Union are watching the phenomenon of nostalgia for Merkel with interest.

Officials within the party say that the matter is also related to the style of the former chancellor. Unlike Schulz and Merez, many still see Merkel as a humble, honest and close-to-the-people person, far from showmanship or pretense.

Some party members believe that the world seemed clearer and less complicated during her rule. Merkel succeeded in giving the impression that the crises the country faced at the time were controllable, even if this was only partially true. It seems that many young people who grew up during her era long for that feeling of security and her consensual political style, far from polarization.

"Refusing to be drawn into anger"

Political researcher Karl Rudolf Korte also views Merkel in the same way. The professor emeritus at the University of Duisburg-Essen says: “In the era of democratic excitement and noise in which we live, it is useful to re-examine that Merkelian refusal to be drawn into waves of anger and denunciation.”

He adds: "This presidential friendliness that transcends party affiliations, and which is characterized by an unusual degree of simplicity and no affectation, is considered an exceptional matter in the Republic of Berlin, where there are many people seeking to attract attention and show importance."

Korte believes that Merkel, especially after leaving office, does not speak in a complex technocratic language, but rather in a language that everyone understands. “Everyone understands it,” he concludes.

Do people hope for her return?

But do the Germans really want Merkel to return to the chancellorship instead of Meretz? It seems that many still have confidence in her abilities even under the current circumstances. Nearly half of Germans believe that Merkel will be more competent than current Chancellor Friedrich Merz in dealing with the current problems facing the country, according to a poll conducted by YouGov and commissioned by the German News Agency (DPA). About 48 percent supported Merkel in this comparison, while 29 percent believe that both figures belonging to the Christian Democratic Party have the same ability to confront Germany's challenges. On the other hand, only 8 percent considered Merkel less competent than Meretz.

These results come at a time when Meretz is suffering from low approval ratings, and his coalition government is struggling to reach agreement on a range of contentious issues.

Merkel ruled Germany for 16 years from 2005 to 2021, and spent most of that period at the head of coalition governments that included the Social Democratic Party, which is also the current coalition partner of Meretz.