For Germany, Brexit includes multiple concerns, including losing a key liberal economic ally in the European Union, the risk of new exits and a threat to Merkel’s position in Europe.
"She faces a historic challenge to hold Europe together. This is in Germany’s interest and it is in Europe’s interest too. No question, she is very worried," Jurgen Falter, a professor of politics at Mainz University, told the newspaper.
The article noted that Merkel is politically experienced in dealing with major crises, but now she is bracing for the "fight of her life." The chancellor will have to keep the EU together, counter a rise in populism and ensure that London keeps as close as possible to Brussels.
The newspaper noted that Brexit is a threat to Merkel’s dominance of Germany and the EU. At home, the popularity of her conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union has dropped to around 33 percent, from 41 percent in 2013. In the EU, Merkel’s open door policy towards migrants was opposed by many member states. Moreover, in order to resolve the crisis, Merkel had to make concessions to Turkey to reach a migrant deal.
"The scale of the refugee problem has turned Merkel into a supplicant, asking favors from other member states – and being rebuffed by countries as small as Hungary," the article read.
Nevertheless, after Brexit, Berlin’s main goal was to make the divorce as swift as possible to try to prevent economic damages and a further collapse of the EU.
Meanwhile, Merkel has stressed that Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty must be triggered to start the withdrawal procedure for the UK. Only after that negotiations between London and Brussels can begin. In turn, Theresa May said it wants to start negotiations before triggering Article 50.
May has "very obvious negotiations skills," a senior EU official familiar with the situation told Reuters. "She won't be an easy partner for the EU. She's been extremely consistent, very persistent."
This is going to be a tough test for Merkel who recently said: "We will have difficult negotiations with Britain, it will not be easy."
"It depends on how May uses her pragmatism. If she pursues a rather realistic approach to what Britain can expect from the EU in return for getting access to the single market, then I believe they could get on rather well. But, if she uses her pragmatism to try and maximize the outcome for Britain at the expense of others, she will not get on well with Merkel," Josef Janning, head of the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Deutsche Welle.