傳默克爾或提前離任 有意接任聯合國祕書長

Angela Merkel does not want to complete her full term as German chancellor and is planning to resign before elections due in 2017, according to reports.

The German leader is aiming to become the first chancellor to leave of her own accord since 1949, and is interested in a new role as United Nations Secretary-General, or President of the European Council, Spiegel magazine reported.

Such a move would come as a major shock in Germany, where Mrs Merkel remains exceptionally popular with voters after almost nine years in power, and be felt across Europe, where her position as the continent's most powerful leader is undisputed.

In last year's elections, Mrs Merkel pledged she would serve a full term in office, and her spokesman and party colleagues have denied all speculation she may leave office early.

But Spiegel, which is usually well informed about German politics, claims it is well known among her colleagues that she does not want a fourth term, and is considering quitting ahead of the 2017 elections.

"Just about everyone around her, in her party or the cabinet, is convinced she will voluntarily leave office," the magazine said, in a special report ahead of Mrs Merkel's 60th birthday this week.

She is said to be keen to avoid following in the footsteps of former chancellors Helmut Kohl, who was once as unassailable as she is now but suffered a humiliating defeat when he tried to fight an election too many in 1998, and Konrad Adenauer, who was forced out in 1963 by a coup within his own party.

An arch-pragmatist, Mrs Merkel has no major policy or pet project to see through that would keep her in office. Mr Kohl was keen to see through the introduction of the euro.

The roles of UN Secretary-General and President of the European Council will both become available in 2017.

The appointment of a political figure of Mrs Merkel's stature could have a profound effect on either office, and lend it considerably more authority on the world stage.

In particular, if Mrs Merkel became President of the European Council, the body of national leaders that oversees the European Union, it could be seen as turning the job into a de facto President of the EU.

When the office was created in 2009, there was debate over how high-profile it should be. Tony Blair was, at one time, considered a candidate.

Suggestions that Mrs Merkel might want to succeed Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary-General first emerged in May, in a report in a Luxembourg newspaper that got little attention, and was denied by Mrs Merkel's spokesman.

A successor for Mr Ban will be chosen in 2016. By UN convention it is the turn of a European.

When asked in a recent television interview if she would like to be UN Secretary-General in 2018, Mrs Merkel replied: “That will certainly not happen.”

If Mrs Merkel does resign as German chancellor, her successor is widely expected to be Ursula von der Leyen, the first woman to serve as German defence minister.

When Mrs Merkel appointed her last year it was seen as the anointing of her eventual successor, but Ms von der Leyen has been a controversial choice, both criticised and ridiculed for introducing army crèches and flexible working hours to make the military more appealing as a career.據英國《每日電訊報》7月13日報道，德國總理默克爾打算在2017年大選前辭去總理一職。

在去年的選舉中，默克爾承諾她將執政到任期結束，她的發言人和黨內同僚也否認了一切關於她將提前離任的猜測。

但是一向深諳德國政治的《明鏡週刊》聲稱，默克爾的同僚們都知道她不想繼續第4個任期，並考慮在2017年大選前離任。

該雜誌在默克爾本週60歲生日前的專題報道中表示：“默克爾身邊的每個人，包括黨內和內閣成員，都知道她將自願離職。”

據說她是爲了避免步前總理赫爾穆特•科爾（Helmut Kohl）和康拉德•阿登納（Konrad Adenauer）的後塵。科爾的地位曾經和默克爾現在一樣穩如泰山，但他還是在1998年的大選中落選。而阿登納1963年因黨內政變被迫下臺。

作爲一名極端的實用主義者，默克爾沒有重大的政策或得意的計劃能讓她繼續連任，而科爾曾經還實現了引入歐元的佳績。

《明鏡週刊》表示，默克爾想成爲自1949年以來德國第一位自願離職的總理，並有意接任聯合國祕書長或歐洲理事會主席之職。

默克爾此舉可能會在德國和整個歐洲引起巨大反響。執政9年後，默克爾在德國仍然十分受選民歡迎，而她在歐洲的領袖地位更是無可爭議。

2017年，聯合國祕書長和歐洲理事會主席之職都將出現空缺。

任命一位像默克爾一樣的政治人物對其中任一機構都有深遠影響，將使其在世界舞臺上享有更大權威。

特別是如果默克爾成爲歐洲理事會主席，那麼她差不多就等同於歐盟主席了。

當2009年成立該職位時，人們就其合適人選爭論不已。英國首相布萊爾曾被認爲是候選人之一。

關於默克爾可能想接替潘基文聯合國祕書長之職的猜想首先出現於5月份盧森堡的一份報紙。當時並沒有引起太多關注，並被默克爾的發言人予以否認。

潘基文的繼任者將於2016年選出。根據聯合國公約，此次繼任者將輪到歐洲人。

當默克爾在最近一次電視採訪中被問及是否想成爲2018年的聯合國祕書長時，她回答：“這當然不會發生。”

如果默克爾確實提前離任，她的繼任者很可能是烏爾蘇拉•馮德萊恩（Ursula von der Leyen）。烏爾蘇拉是德國第一位女國防部長。

去年默克爾任命烏爾蘇拉爲國防部長時，就表明她已成爲默克爾最終欽定的繼任者。但烏爾蘇拉一直以來都備受爭議。她引入軍隊託兒所和彈性工作制來使軍人成爲一種更加有吸引力的職業，爲此她飽受批評和嘲諷。