Merkel is praised for her deft leadership

Chancellor Merkel has been praised recently in newspapers for her deft leadership of the European Union. She has been able to get the EU Constitution on the agenda. She has also managed to have all EU members agree to a declaration that will be published tomorrow in support of the EU on its 50th anniversary. Commentators credit her success with her not being egoistic.

I appreciate the work that she is doing on the part of the EU and feel it is important. However, I also believe that she is following a classical political line of involving herself in foreign policy issues while neglecting domestic issues. Foreign policy can be a crowd pleaser but also can divert energies from the hard work necessary at home.