Germany and the 2021 Eifel floods

Abstract This chapter examines German Chancellor Merkel’s leadership during the flooding that ravaged several German states in 2021. This natural disaster is considered a gender-neutral crisis type. The chapter assesses public remarks at press conferences and parliamentary debates from July 14, 2021 (the beginning of the floods), through December 8, 2021 (when Merkel left office). The analysis confirms the book’s theory that a gender-neutral crisis type, together with Merkel’s gender-neutral issue framing did not provide many opportunities to establish gender role congruency and, with it, an increase in public approval ratings—instead, Merkel’s approval ratings remained stable, neither helping nor hurting leadership perceptions.