Dr. Chancellor Merkel’s view of freedom is a refreshing one. Democracy as viewed from the perspective of someone raised under dictatorship is not perfect, often a frustrating, but the only path to freedom. I enjoyed this text and it highlighted for me the massive difference between the experience of integrating East Germany to international order as contrasted with many other former Warsaw pact countries. Dr. M’s steadfast desire to maintain a rules based international order is laudable if difficult to imagine here in early 2026.