"And then there was one," begins a New York Times profile of German chancellor Angela Merkel, referring to her as "the last powerful defender of Europe" after the election of Donald J. Trump.

You read that right. Angela Merkel, the woman who once came to her senses just long enough to declare that multiculturalism in the West had failed, but who went on to oppose Brexit and embrace over a million so-called refugees from the Middle East into her country, is the Times' pick for the Western world's last powerful defender.

The article, written by Alison Smale and Steven Erlanger, predictably reeks of contempt for Trump; it even closes on a quote from a Berlin tabloid headline that Trump's victory was “the night the West died.” The article expresses the fear that Trump will ally with Russia's Putin against Germany and that if Trump could win in America, then the dreaded "right-wing populist" Marine Le Pen could win in France.

Merkel is depicted as Europe's last hope for strong leadership in the face of a sea of troubles such as the economy, Brexit, and what the Times euphemistically calls "last year’s migrant crisis, which has weakened her politically." No kidding. Why do you think that might be?

Smale and Erlanger worry that Merkel seems weary, however, and that “she’s the lightning rod for all those European populists who blame Germany for being powerful and hegemonic and setting the rules.”

And for facilitating the Islamic subversion of Europe.