for every candidate who comes next, or the next chancellor to fulfil this role, - because there will always be this comparison to merkel. and at eu hq in brussels, there will also be a big merkel—sized hole. 0n the global landscape, i mean, it really matters and i think merkel was a very well respected leader, so everybody is looking at who is going to follow in her footsteps. of course, there is the potential for germany to take a dramatic new direction after 16 years of angela merkel, and that would be felt here and abroad. this is the eu's most influential country. but in the end, most germans are stability—hungry, and so the calls for radical change, while loud, are limited. what we're probably looking at here is �*change' but with a small c. this is the frontrunner to replace angela merkel, a centrist social democrat, currently germany's finance minister, seen as a safe pair of hands.