As a European, I can say that you are quite wrong.
The stagnation that Merkel represented has, in German eyes, left the country in the dust in terms of economic progress. Her admitted double-dealing in the Minsk Accords has tainted any trust in German foreign policy for decades. Better put: Merkel personified the transition of Germany from an independent state into a US vassal, leading it to accept the US act of terrorism against the Nordstream pipeline resulting in the quick deindustrialization of Germany and thus taking the heart out of the EU economy.
