Gideon Rachman wrote in the Financial Times that “since 1945, Europe has become increasingly prosperous, peaceful and comfortable – and irrelevant” and closed the article with “Europe has become a giant Switzerland” (Mahbubani 2020). After all the criticism that Europe has received regarding its ability to lead globally, in walks Angela Merkel. Merkel who is a trained quantum chemist from East Germany, has quickly propelled herself to be a global leader.
Merkel is succeeding as a woman, in a male oriented party, as Germany’s first female political leader (Connolly 2015). Many world leaders have tried to overpower or humiliate her during her tenure, but she had endured. Vladimir Putin brought his dog into a meeting with her, knowing she is afraid of dogs, Donald Trump told her she was stupid and Silvio Berlusconi left her waiting for 15 minutes while he chatted away on a phone call (Kottasova 2021). Even her own party referred to her as “Miss Germany” or das Madchen (the girl in German).
Why is Merkel so successful as a global leader? She has become the world’s crisis manager, having seen Germany through the global financial crisis that took down many a nation. While some people might call her boring, she is calm, pragmatic and diplomatic and people would never think of her as being a corrupt politician (Kottasoca 2021). Her scientific approach to leadership has helped her image as a wonderful mediator. She famously helped created a deal between Eurozone and Greece and convinced Russia and Ukraine’s top officials to speak with each other. She also convinced G8 leaders to cut greenhouse gas emotions and got George Bush to admit there was a climate problem (Kottasoca 2021).
She has never been afraid of being the minority voice in the group by bringing compassion and insistence in the political decisions. Many German’s are concerned about the direction the country will go after her retirement. With deadly floods that happened in Germany and the refusal of some of Germany’s state governments to refuse her desire for further lockdowns during the COVID pandemic crisis, many fear the departure of politics balancing with science (2021).
References
Connolly, K. (January 7, 2015) Ten Reasons Angela Merkel is the World’s Most Powerful Woman. Retrieved October 11, 2021 from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/07/ten-reasons-angela-merkel-germany-chancellor-world-most-powerful-woman
Kottasova, I. Angela Merkel endured as others came and went. Now world’s crisis manager steps down. Retrieved October 11, 2021 from: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/17/europe/angela-merkel-retirement-germany-analysis-grm-intl/index.html
Mahbubani, K. (June 26, 2020). Can the ER Assume the Mantle of Global Leadership? Retrieved October 11, 2021, from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/eu-global-leadership/
Politics will be poorer without angela merkel’s scientific approach. (2021). Nature (London), 597(7876), 304-304. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02479-6
Hello,
I did look back at that, and you’re correct. Apparently her family moved when she was an infant, but was in fact born in Hamburg (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Angela-Merkel).
Thanks,
Bill Egan
Actually I read that she was not born in East Germany but actually West German. That is generally a misunderstanding by a lot of reporters. Her family moved to East Germany sometime after her birth.
Hello,
From your post I can see that you have a great deal of respect for Angela Merkel, and I would have to agree! Especially the fact that she was born in what was communist East Germany (https://www.dw.com/en/merkel-east-german-upbringing-influenced-my-leadership-style/a-51176619).
Back in 2019 my wife and I spent some time in Germany with some friends. We quickly found out that within the country their was still some distrust, and division between the more affluent western portion, and the eastern side of the country. In fact many of the people griped about having to carry former East Germans financially.
In my opinion that is what makes Angela Merkel’s rise to power even more remarkable. Not only does she deal with petty slights from Putin, Trump and Berlusconi with grace, but she also handles her upbringing with aplomb.
This quote speaks to her mindset, and why she is so adept at handling challenges. “For 35 years, I experienced the official opinion as different from my own,” Merkel said, referring to the communist leadership of the former East Germany. “I was alone with my opinion, or shared it with very few people. That’s why it does not bother me when others see things differently” (https://www.dw.com/en/merkel-east-german-upbringing-influenced-my-leadership-style/a-51176619).
Much like you mention about her being a “wonderful mediator”, I think comes from her thoughts on diversity, equity, and inclusion. She seems to me a woman who understood the difficulties before her, but also understood how to maneuver in situations as well. Her pragmatism is her specialty and much could be learned from her approach! This can be seen from the points you highlight about her, as well as her understanding on the need to accept refugees from war-torn countries.
Do you think more nations could benefit from female leadership?
Do you think her compassion and ability to see the big picture is based on more on her gender, or upbringing?
Great post and good luck this semester!
Bill Egan
References
https://www.dw.com/en/merkel-east-german-upbringing-influenced-my-leadership-style/a-51176619