Germany’s Merkel ready to have more time to read, travel

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is satisfied with the timing of her departure after 16 years at the helm of the country and is now looking forward to dedicating time to things she had to neglect during her chancellorship. Weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Saturday that Merkel said she wants to “perhaps travel a bit or read, or simply enjoy some leisure time knowing that no possible upheaval is going to happen in the next 20 minutes. “The chancellor, who announced in 2018 that she would not run again in the national election last month, steered Germany safely through a succession of crises including the global financial crisis, the migrant crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.