People loved Angela Merkel's face after she said Germany could no longer count on America as an ally

Christmas heralds the beginning of the end of the year, and a reflection of the kind of year it has been.

Geopolitically, it's been an uncertain one, as Donald Trump's first year in the White House brought with it the destabilisation of relations with North Korea and continued links between his campaign for Presidency and the Kremlin.

Perhaps the defining moment of the year, in international relations, was when German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in May that Germany and Europe can no longer rely on the US and the UK, given the Trump Presidency and Brexit.

At a rally, she said:

The times in which we could completely rely on others are on the way out.

I’ve experienced that in the last few days.

We Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands.

She then took a huge sip of beer.

And people loved it.​

Praising her for standing up to Trump and showing strong leadership.

It turns out, there are lots of pictures of the Chancellor with beer:

It's not the first time either, in 2014 Merkel stepped out of the G20 summit in Australia for a beer.

However, this edition of 'Merkel with a beer' is probably the most iconic.

Picture: Getty Images

Picture: Getty Images

Picture: Getty Images

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