Just over a year ago, the New York Times was calling Angela Merkel “the reluctant leader of the west”. Now Ms Merkel is on her way out as the leader of Germany. Her decision to stand down as chair of the Christian Democratic Union sets up a battle for the leadership of the German centre-right. And although Ms Merkel plans to stay on as chancellor until 2021, the weakness of her governing coalition means that it is also possible she will be out of the top job within months.

Either way, the chancellor’s decision to step down as leader of the CDU raises three obvious questions. First, what will the Merkel era be remembered for? Second, why is it coming to an end? Third, what comes next?

Ms Merkel’s years as chancellor are likely to be remembered as a period of growing prosperity and power for Germany. The steady expansion of the German economy, the country’s low unemployment and the healthy state of its finances have contrasted markedly with the crisis-ridden economies of much of the rest of the eurozone. As a result, Germany became the crucial player in determining the handling of the Greek debt crisis. Although Ms Merkel came in for much criticism in southern Europe, her steady and cautious approach was popular at home. The extent to which Ms Merkel’s Germany had become the de facto diplomatic leader of Europe was underlined when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 — and the German chancellor led the European response.