Angela Merkel out of action for three weeks after breaking pelvis in 'low-speed' skiing accident
The German Chancellor has reportedly had to cancel meetings for the next three weeks
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The new German coalition’s plans to hit the ground running in the new year were dealt an unforeseen blow on Monday with news that Chancellor Angela Merkel had fractured her pelvis in a skiing accident and had been forced to cancel meetings and visits for the next three weeks.
Ms Merkel, 59, and her husband have for several years taken Christmas breaks cross-country skiing in Engadin near St Moritz. Her holidays are hardly mentioned in the German media and take place away from the TV cameras.
On Monday, however, government spokesman Steffen Seibert had little option but to disclose that Ms Merkel, beginning her third term in office, would be pretty much out of physical action for the next three weeks. “She has suffered a partial fracture to the left interior pelvic ring,” he told reporters.
Mr Seibert said Ms Merkel had returned from the holiday believing she had merely suffered bruising from her skiing fall. But after being examined by a doctor in Berlin she was told that she had suffered a fracture which would require “lots of lying down” for a period of up to six weeks.
In what appeared to be a reference to the life-threatening skiing accident suffered by the former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, Mr Seibert said: “We are assuming that she was travelling at low speed.”
At the time of his accident, Ms Merkel was herself among those offering support to the German national sporting hero, saying she was “absolutely distraught” at the news.
Some reports in the German media implied that Ms Merkel’s fall might have been due to her allegedly 20-year-old cross-country skis. The manufacturer recently urged her to buy a new pair and warned that after a decade of use such skis “ noticeably lose their tension”.
Ms Merkel is reported to be walking with the aid of crutches. She has had to cancel a visit to Poland and an audience with Xavier Bettel, the new prime minister of Luxembourg.
Her injury has also obliged Ms Merkel’s ruling Christian Democratic Party to postpone a key leadership meeting which had been planned for the weekend.
Mr Seibert said the Chancellor would not have to spend time in hospital but would conduct much of her business on the phone from home. He said she would be attending a few engagements at her Berlin office and would chair Wednesday’s regular Cabinet meeting in person.
Ms Merkel’s accident is another false start for her only recently formed “grand coalition” of conservative Christian Democrats and left-of-centre Social Democrats. The new government was sworn in in December after months of fraught negotiations, the longest in post-war German history.
The two parties in the coalition have been at loggerheads over the issue of Romanian and Bulgarian immigration into Germany since late last year. The Bavarian wing of Ms Merkel’s party has demanded strict control and even fingerprinting of new arrivals from these counties. The Social Democrats are firmly against the idea.
Additional reporting by Adam Withnall
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments