Merkel to face journalist questions for first time since retirement

Former German chancellor Angela Merkel faces questions from a journalist on Tuesday evening for the first time since she stepped down from politics.
Among other things, her comments on her policies towards Russia and her relationship with President Vladimir Putin against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are eagerly awaited.
According to the invitation, the 67-year-old wants to take a stand on "the challenging questions of our time" in a conversation with German news magazine Der Spiegel's reporter Alexander Osang, who has written profiles of Merkel several times.
The event has been organized by the publisher Aufbau and the Berliner Ensemble theatre company.
Merkel stepped down after last year's general election and planned to rest for several months after serving as chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021.
In recent months, Merkel had said she did not wish to speak publicly as a retired leader who should not interfere from the sidelines. Last week she finally said that she supported all efforts by the German government, the EU, the US, NATO, the G7 and the UN to "put a stop to this barbaric war of aggression by Russia."
During her time in office, Merkel had always made a point of not letting the thread of communication with Putin break despite her personal dislike of the Russian leader, but her handling of the Russian-German gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 has come in for much criticism for increasing German dependence on Moscow.
Other topics expected to come up are her activities since leaving office and her plans for the future.