Preparing to bow out, Merkel too busy to think about life after office

German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds her annual summer news conference in Berlin, Germany, July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/Pool

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Angela Merkel made clear on Thursday she would keep working on issues such as climate change till her last day as chancellor but, inscrutable as ever, gave little away about her plans once she leaves office after a September 26 election.

Merkel has led Germany for 16 years, steering Europe's biggest economy through a global financial crisis, the euro zone debt crisis, a migrant crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, but she is not running for a fifth term.