Merkel Expected To Push For Global Cohesiveness In New Year's Speech

Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to stay in power for a few more years. She will finish her term, she says, in 2021 before leaving. But the longtime leader has already resigned as leader of her party, so Germany is looking toward its future as Merkel delivers a New Year's speech today. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is in Berlin. Hey there, Soraya. SORAYA SARHADDI NELSON, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve. INSKEEP: How does Angela Merkel see the next couple of years? SARHADDI NELSON: Well, she's seeing it as a time of global cohesiveness or unity if her speech that she is going to be delivering shortly will, you know - gives any indication. She says that Germans need to work together not just at home but with other nations to meet the challenges of climate change or migration or fighting against terrorism. But she also talks about her decision to step down, once again saying that she was not forced out, that she already had