(FILES) In this file photo taken on November 08, 2011 (from L, front) former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, then French Prime Minister François Fillon, then German Chancellor Angela Merkel, then Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, then European Commissioner for Energy Guenther Oettinger, and then Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Erwin Sellering open a symbolic valve during an inaugural ceremony for the first of Nord Stream's twin 1,224 kilometre gas pipelines through the Baltic Sea, in Lubmin, northeastern Germany. - On December 8, 2021, Angela Merkel left power, her popularity at the zenith. One year later, the star of the former German chancellor, considered too accommodating with Putin's Russia, has faded. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP)