German Chancelor Angela Merkel arrives for the family photo at the G20 Osaka Summit in Osaka on June 28 2019. Picture: AFP/LUDOVIC MARIN
But questions about her health came up during her first bilateral meeting in Osaka — with US President Donald Trump, who called her a “fantastic woman”. “Chancellor, how are you feeling,” one reporter shouted. Merkel didn’t respond, but just looked straight into the cameras. After the first two working sessions at the summit, Merkel gave a five-minute statement in which she spoke about trade and the digital economy. Questions were not allowed, though Merkel joked to reporters, who were forced to sit on tiny chairs with tables, that they “look like a school class”. She did not comment on her health.
On June 18, Merkel shook uncontrollably for minutes during a ceremony with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Berlin. She said it was the result of not drinking enough water. Then on Thursday, Merkel was again seen trembling and clasping her hands as she stood alongside German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a swearing-in ceremony for the new justice minister.