When Merkel took over the burden of the President of the CDU (CDU), a large number of people inside and outside the party were not optimistic about her, believing that she was just a "political vase" that reached the peak of power by relying on others' support, or a transitional figure who temporarily cleaned up the "mess". Especially the ambitious new generation of politicians within the CDU party are privately pursuing their wishful thinking.
However, Merkel has become more and more sophisticated and firmly grasped the authority of the party chairman.
On November 22, 2005, Merkel officially became the first female federal prime minister in Germany, and the first woman to lead Germanic peoples after the Queen Theophanu (regent from 983 to 991) of the Holy Roman Empire , a thousand years ago. There is a striking portrait of Russian Empire Caterina II in her office. Many European media who are good at Lenovo compare her to Queen Theresa of Austrian Empire . In German , both monarchs have the nickname "Mutti" (mom).
French "Echo" once called Merkel "European grandmother". The newspaper believes that Germany has re-established its international stage under the leadership of Merkel. Germany can engage in dialogue with Russia led by Putin. In the face of the provocation of former US President Trump, Germany used diplomatic wisdom to defend its principles without being humble and arrogant. Merkel not only strengthened Germany's international influence, but also made EU more independent and autonomous in its relationship with the United States. Therefore, Merkel is not only the helm of Europe's largest economic power, but also the "grandmother" of the entire Europe.
prefers symmetric "unideological" leaders?
The rigorous and restrained governance style almost ran through Merkel's 16-year governing career. "She is pragmatic and doesn't have ideological - just like many Germans." Der Freitag commented as early as 2012. The few symbols related to her are the signature "diamond gesture" - a movement of fingertips touching each other in front of the abdomen, which is teased as "Merkel diamond".
mentioned this gesture. Merkel once said in an interview that this was just a habit that sometimes he didn't know where to put his hands, but this gesture also unconsciously showed his "preference for symmetry."
On September 2, 2013, CDU set up a huge billboard on the exterior wall of a hotel under construction in front of the Berlin Railway Station. This montage photo consists of 2150 photos of CDU supporters, each of which uses his hands to compare a diamond gesture, and from a distance it is a huge "Merkel diamond". CDU also created the emoji "" derived from the "Merkel diamond" to refer to Merkel.
However, the refugee crisis in 2015 broke the dullness of this "symmetry".
In August 2015, photos of Syrian refugees traveling through the Balkans entering Hungary were overwhelming. Faced with the refugees wandering outside the gates of Europe, under the ardent plea of "free and open Germany" from the outside world, Merkel's usual thoughtful consideration finally made concessions. "We can do it!" (Wir schaffen das.) became the most famous saying in the late Merkel administration and also caused great social division in Germany.
Sigma Gabriel, former leader of the Social Democratic Party and Germany's deputy prime minister and minister of economy during the refugee crisis, later recalled in an interview with Spiegel how Merkel was "driven by faith" when facing the influx of refugees. As the two discussed whether it was necessary to close the border, Merkel asked, “But Mr. Gabriel, please promise me one thing-we won’t build walls."
Looking back at the past, Gabriel thought, "I can still see her shaking her head... I remember thinking to myself that this was not her superficial position, but from the depths of her heart. "For Merkel, who grew up in East Germany in the Cold War era, no one knows better what a "wall" means than her. Merkel later said in response to critics, "If we must apologize for showing friendship in an emergency, then this is not my country." "
Merkel's words made the refugees in Hungary turn their attention to the "final destination", and they shouted "Germany! Germany! "Social websites are full of "love letters" written by refugees to Merkel - this is a love expression that Merkel rarely received before. At that time, she was even called "Mutti" by refugees.
In 2002, Merkel visited Russia. It is reported that after meeting Putin at Kremlin , she joked to her aides that she passed the "KGB test" because she successfully maintained her confrontation with Putin.
In 2007, Merkel was the prime minister for the first time A visit to Moscow , and received a dog sent by Putin. "New York Times " reported that Putin had been told that Merkel had been "uneasy" about dogs after being bitten by a dog ten years ago.
2018 G7 summit, Merkel leaned over to stare at Trump, and the BBC published an article saying that Merkel's actions were "like a harsh teacher to scold a bad student."
After Trump was elected as the president of the United States, some Western media had silenced Kerr is positioned as the last leader in the value of Western freedom, but Merkel did not agree with this statement at the time and did not want to confront Trump publicly.
But after the 2017 Italian G7 summit, when Trump repeatedly refused to make a promise on climate change, Merkel's attitude changed a major change and made a rare statement that "we Europeans must take our destiny into their own hands."
In November 2018, Merkel and Mark Dragon attended the 100th anniversary event for the end of World War I and was mistaken for Macron's wife by an old French lady.
In November 2020, after the news of the then Democratic presidential candidate Biden winning in the US election, Merkel turned against the low-key style and sent Biden three times in four days to congratulate Biden, saying, "If you want to deal with the current global challenges, transatlantic cooperation is essential, and Germany is very much looking forward to more in-depth cooperation with Biden. "
Although people will remember Merkel's image of "Western values" being challenged by Trump and others, and her humane actions in the face of refugees were also praised by the media, it turns out that the "Merkel Mom" who calls on Europeans to dominate her own destiny will never convince other European leaders to take coordinated pace on issues such as refugee sharing. In 2016, she flew to Ankara to negotiate a "refugee outsourcing" agreement with Turkish President Erdogan, and later she reached a similar agreement with Libya and Morocco . In this way, the EU only pays for the local residence of refugees to transit countries - to stop them Enter Europe.
However, critics rarely mention this pragmatism of Merkel. For voters who adhere to conservative values, the "open door" decision is not so pragmatic as a personal opportunistic choice: seeing that moral pressure is overwhelmed and considering the political future of the party and even personal, she chose to compromise with public opinion and the media.
A split Germany?
In October 2018, Merkel announced his resignation as president of the CDU and gave up participating in the next election. Most refugees were grateful after learning the news, but were disappointed.
"I feel very sad about Merkel's decision. The woman who gave me hope and the future was leaving? It's unthinkable... For me, Germany without Merkel is like bread without butter."For refugees, Alas Baggio, who arrived in Germany from Syria in August 2015, wrote in Vice magazine in 2018 that, for refugees, she was like a mother who cared for children. Many refugees, including me, have found endless love in Merkel. "
To this day, Syrian Mudamani is still Merkel's "number one fan". Six years ago, a selfie with Merkel made Mudamani, who was 18 years old at the time, make headlines in major media. "To me, Merkel is the heroine who saved my life. She is the most powerful woman in Europe and she gave me everything I wanted. "Before the German election in September this year, Mudamani told Reuters , "The most important thing is that I can stay here." "
In 2015, Mudamani and Merkel took selfies with her in Germany
At present, Merkel's departure resonated with the "Sonnenallee" in the new Cologne district of Berlin. This is a famous immigrant settlement in Germany, called "Little Beirut" by the locals. Here, immigrants from the Middle East speak Arabic , and men can By finding mosques for worship everywhere, women can buy headscarves and enter "female-only" hair salons. Many people believe that communities like "Little Beirut" are Merkel's "legacy".
However, Merkel does not set a ceiling, and lacks sufficient preparation and follow-up management policy to accept refugees. From the beginning, it was dissatisfied by the ruling partner of the CSU, especially the leader of the CSU, Horst Seehofer has publicly criticized Merkel's refugee policy many times. In 2017, the fledgling German Choice Party (AfD) entered the Bundestag with 12.6% of the vote and became the largest opposition party in Germany.
The German society behind Merkel has fallen into division. Now the German welcome to foreign settlers has long faded. "Regaining control" has become the slogan of anti-immigrant groups. The far-right parties have also gained a foothold in the refugee crisis. The word "mom" used by refugees to praise Merkel has become a code word for anti-immigrants to mock her.
In January 2015, the anti-immigrant far-right group added Merkel's avatar to the headscarf. The German slogan on the brand means: Ms. Merkel, this is a person
On December 8, 2018, Merkel left the position of President of the CDU. Although a large number of Germans spontaneously gathered in front of the Prime Minister's Office and greeted her with warm applause for six consecutive minutes, the helmsman of the German ship had a low approval rating at that time, less than half of its highest approval rating of 70%.
boring or stable?
In a 2014 feature of The New Yorker, Merkel, who was once widely popular among the German people, was described as "a clumsy body". Even she herself claimed to be an "action idiot": at the age of 5, she would fall down when she went downhill, but she overcome all this with perseverance. "I must first figure it out in my mind and then exercise unremittingly. "She laughed at herself.
When she was a teenager, Merkel did not show the obsession with fashion as girls of the same age. Her Russian teacher said "she was not interested in clothes and always had no color", while another former classmate described her hairstyle as "like a pot buckled on her head". This style has also been continued in her 16-year prime ministerial career. Merkel under the camera always wore an over-waisted suit top and narrow-mouthed dark trousers - although the color of the tops will be changed from time to time.
In 2012, a Dutch graphic designer compiled photos of Merkel's suit top, and he named the puzzle piece "Merkel Color Score" (Pantone) Merkel)
However, the "boring" personality color does not conceal Merkel's talent and progress. Since her student days, Merkel has shown a talented and aggressive side. People who follow Merkel's career point out that Merkel's scientific thinking habits are the key to her political success. Merkel once studied quantum mechanics , and perhaps it was through this scientific training that she learned to deal with problems in an orderly manner.“She makes comparisons, simulates scenes in her mind, weighs risks, and then—even if she has made a decision, she will pause and then take action,” the New Yorker wrote.
Perhaps, there are also such considerations and trade-offs behind Merkel's choice to take off the burden of the party chairman in 2018. Three years have passed, and the CDU has suffered another crushing defeat in the federal parliamentary election, which seems to indicate that Merkel's decent withdrawal is "just right" - if she continues to take power, it may even damage the reputation she gained in 16 years of political career. However, what happened in a few months after the election cleared this speculation: Although the CDU was no longer in glory, the three parties that won the cabinet also found it difficult to draw an expected blueprint for the Germans to govern the country.
political views are left-wing Liberal Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party have controlled different ministerial positions: in addition to launching prime ministerial candidates, the Social Democratic Party will also take charge of six departments including the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Health; the Liberal Democratic Party will take charge of four departments including the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The Liberal Democratic Party has even announced the ministerial candidates. The party’s chairman Lindner has obtained the position of finance minister that he has always requested and served as the No. 3 figure of the new government.
The Liberal Democratic Party, which has an economic liberal color, advocates vigorously restricting government debts, and hopes to reduce the burden on enterprises. This makes the Liberal Democratic Party highly likely to oppose any policies that may lead to increased government spending, such as issuing bonds or increasing taxes. And this is in conflict with some plans of the SPD to increase social spending.
The Green Party has won ministerial positions such as environmental protection and diplomacy. One of the two Green Party chairmen, Belberk, has no experience in diplomatic fields, but has put forward many "ambitious" diplomatic goals, such as responding to Russia outside the EU, China and "disobedient" Hungary and Poland within the EU with a tough attitude.
On November 16, the German energy regulator, the Federal Network Bureau, announced the suspension of certification and approval of the operation of the "North Stream-2" natural gas pipeline project, which means that although the construction of " Nord Stream-2" has been completed, Germany cannot obtain natural gas from Russia for the time being. After the news came out, European natural gas prices soared by 17% that day.
"North Stream-2" is widely regarded as a political legacy left by Merkel, but Bell Burke publicly opposed it and repeatedly demanded that the government prohibit the issuance of licenses to "North Stream-2". At the same time, the Green Party, which is hostile to Russian natural gas, insists on achieving complete coal reduction before 2030 as soon as possible and closing all nuclear power plants, which has caused doubts about Germany's energy transformation plan.
Due to the significant differences in the ruling philosophy and policies between the three parties, this German government will face a difficult political game. During the transitional running-in period of the new government with high uncertainty, the Germans will miss the Merkel era, even though the stability at that time made people feel dull and even boring.
Source: Pengpai News
