Don't forget that of late Juncker & co have been operating in an pretty underhand & derogatory manner so was she supposed to cower away & say nothing or stand up for herself? Personally I think that they will show a bit more respect towards her now which improves the prospect of a deal with the EU. Also it is important to remember that these negotiations are not all one way as I am pretty certain that lot's of German industries are lobbying Merkel to ensure that their valuable UK export market is preserved. For example about 1 in 3 cars sold in the UK are German, with the market being worth about £18 billion pa to Volkswagen alone. With the problems Volkswagen have been encountering they can ill afford to see restrictions implemented in one of their most valuable market-places.