Dr. Merkel's Adventures

Cartoon of Angela Merkel, photo: danikaturen.wordpress.com

The arms are bent, the fingertips are touching. Angela Merkel is ready to face the press conference on the euro summit in Brussels. Her velvet suit is dark blue, the background is light blue and the European flag shines also in blue with the twelve yellow stars on it. Only the German flag in black, red and gold does not fit the theme of the conference.

Last October the European leaders met to discuss the continuing debt crisis. “Europe should, in the same way as Germany has, become stronger after the crisis,” stated Chancellor after the meeting. Merkel’s rhetorical training seems to work out. She stressed the right words in each sentence: “Maximization”, “nominal increase”, “avoidance” and “approximately”. These terms became very important in her speech.

“We agreed on economic reforms that consist of five elements: First, the individual effort of the member states, second, a sustainable solution for Greece, third, the optimization of ESFS, fourth, the recapitalization of Europe’s banks and fifth, the strengthening of the stability of the Euro zone,” said Angela Merkel. That’s it. Those five “elements” are the solution of Europe’s financial problems or rather “a step forward”, as Merkel likes to say.

“I am very confident with the outcome of the meeting,” added the Chancellor at the end of her talk.  She is then ready to answer questions of the journalists who have been silent so far. Merkel is juggling with billions of Euros for Greece till no one really understands how much money is actually going to be paid. When she doesn't know the answer she simply looks at her notes, repeats what she has said before, folds her hands and smiles confidently. Besides, none of the journalists are confronting her with tricky questions.

There is nothing to enrage Angela Merkel. She remains calm and keeps her way as usual. In her home country the Chancellor is rather seen as an uncharismatic politician. In Europe Angela Merkel is ruling walking hand in hand with Sarkozy and tells other nations what to do. Abroad she is referred to as Dr. Merkel and in her home country that title does not seem to exist at all.   

Angela Merkel’s history in well known. She was born in Hamburg but grew up in East Germany. Her father Horst Kasner worked as a pastor in the local community and therefore Merkel’s Christian background is obvious. In 1973 she started studying physics in Leipzig and gained her doctorate for her thesis on quantum chemistry. Merkel remained in the academically working sphere until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Her political involvement began with the membership in the new party Democratic Awakening. Shortly afterwards, the party united with the Christian Democratic Union, CDU, where Merkel is the federal Chairwoman since 2000. She was elected to the German Bundestag and represented her home state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern there. Furthermore, she used to hold the title of the Federal Minister for Women and Youth and afterwards Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

The federal election in 2005 made her move into the so called Kanzleramt and she became known for being the first female Chancellor in Germany.

Some say Angela Merkel is not a typical woman and that is why she has been so successful in the man dominated world of politics. Another question is what “femine” is supposed to be and if women in leading positions are not always seen as dashing and stern.

Even though, she seems to have a lack of charisma, Merkel is not only the leading figure in Germany but also one of the most influential politicians in Europe. Her conservative views are followed and even her coalition partner the Free Democrats cannot really introduce any liberal policy. Merkel is respected, perhaps because of Germany’s economical strength or because people believe she knows a way out of the crisis. 

„We are going to have regular Euro summits and the obligation of the member states, we agreed on that today, that the debt limitations (...) are going to be prescribed into domestic law," stated the Chancellor. There she goes again. Merkel is clear about her demands. She wants to move on with the “economical convergence in the Euro zone” to improve order and obedience in the financial world. Basically, she tells the others what to do and that is to lower the autonomy of the Euro states. Otherwise, the bailout fund could be cut very quickly. The powerful and wealthy states tell the dependent and indebted ones what to do. The ongoing protest in Athens can not change that either. France and Germany are putting even more pressure on Greece to keep with the agreed austerity measures.

Her party, the CDU, enjoys increasing prevalence in the German population and according to the latest surveys Angela Merkel is the only politician in Europe whose popularity grows within the crisis. That is quite the opposite to Sarkozy’s current status heading into the presidential election in France in April.

Merkel and Sarkozy at Summit, photo: hellenext.org

“I am going to support Nicolas Sarkozy, because we are friends – no matter what he does,” said Merkel in the double interview with Sarkozy at the beginning of the week. “I admire the woman who led 80 million Germans so well through the crisis,” was his reply. German papers refer to the dream team as “Merkozy” and write about Sarkozy’s strategy to win the elections due to mutual support. The German-French relationship might never have been as strong as it is right now. They present themselves as invincible parties for Europe and historically grown friends. To create the image of personal affection and coorporation between Merkel and Sarkozy is the aim of that campaign.

There is no gossip about the German chancellor and in general very little is known about her private life. She doesn’t have children, is married to Joachim Sauer but together they are rarely seen in public. Merkel doesn’t give statements in outrage, controls her emotions and is always diplomatic. She can not even be exposed with a fake doctorate like other German politicians have been lately. 

When Angela Merkel is smiling she seems to be a different person. The angles of her mouth are lifted up, her face brightens and little wrinkles appear next to her eyes. Merkel is not as intimidating as Margaret Thatcher with the high pitched voice. Merkel is just “Angie” who can not be imagined to lead anything anywhere. Again, it might be rather the ability of wealthy nations to profit from the crisis than great politics that rule in Europe.