Merkel, a civilian

Wu Chen

In March 2020, when the world was facing a sudden outbreak of new crown pneumonia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had been in power for 15 years, gave a rare televised speech, calling on the public to strengthen protection, scientific epidemic prevention, mutual help and not overreact. Inspiring speeches are not Merkel's forte, and she prefers to express her thoughts with practical actions. On the same day, the German media photographed her going to the supermarket to buy, and the shopping cart was half empty, with two bottles of wine and three rolls of toilet paper. She obviously wants to tell the people with her specific actions that there is no need to overstock goods, and that in times of crisis, she also needs to think about others.

Merkel's image of the civilian chancellor, without any sculpting or embellishment, is like her own experience in power for 16 years, without a scandal, without any boastful words or deeds, not even a memorable speech. Unlike most of the leaders of the great powers, Merkel herself was a symbol of the foundation of the postwar Germany: a return to normalcy, and Merkel has always chosen to present herself as a civilian. In a high position, still maintaining a normal life, the couple lives in a five-storey apartment building in East Berlin, has a log cabin built by herself in the countryside, if it is not a humble police post on the side of the road, you have no idea that this is the prime minister's residence; she herself often goes to the supermarket near the apartment to buy things, and the photos purchased by pushing the cart do not need to be posed, only a few guards behind you let you know that she is the prime minister.

At the end of 2021, Merkel stepped down to begin her dream retirement career. In addition to maintaining a civilian life, Merkel's other greatness is that she understands the importance of politicians "being cautious at the beginning" and chooses the timing of stepping down, unlike her predecessor, former Prime Minister Cole, who was in power for 16 years but was eclipsed by electoral failures, or another female politician, Margaret Thatcher, who was knocked out of power by her colleagues in the Conservative Party's "palace coup". Choosing the timing of her own downfall was a matter of Merkel's personality.

In her new book, Chancellor: The Chacellor, the Hungarian-American writer Kati Marten describes the life saga she observes. Although the second half of the book is too much to say about Merkel's becoming a "Western leader" during the Trump administration, as a biography detailing Merkel's growth from an obscure scientist in East Germany to the most influential politician in modern European history, Marton has a profound and unique analysis of Merkel's character, the idea of governing, and the German character shaped by her long reign. Merkel's legacy of rationality, optimism, pragmatism, moderation, unlabeled, and commitment to solving problems is particularly valuable in the face of global upheaval.

Opportunity abounds

When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Merkel, a 35-year-old physicist, decided to switch careers. "I'm a good scientist, but I'm not good enough to win a Nobel Prize," she once described why she gave up her career as a scientist. At a time when the two Germans were about to merge and the East German had a new opportunity for development, she wanted to switch new tracks and excel in new areas.

In Chancellor Merkel's office is a portrait of Queen Catherine the Great of Russia, which also bears a motto from the Tsarina, a German princess, to her Russian subjects: "Go out and embrace openness!" Merkel admired Catherine not only because of her love of history and Russian literature, but also because of the changes that the Tsarina had brought to Russia. At the time of German reunification, as a sensitive and yearning young scientist to the West, Merkel wanted to destroy the walls and embrace openness.

The timing of her choice of politics can be described as a matter of heaven's favor. Her earliest political mentor, the last Chancellor of East Germany, De Mézier, once reminded East Germans not to become the 10/10 generation, that is, "it is 10 years late to change and restart their careers, but there are still 10 years to retire", stuck at the crossroads of life, unable to retreat. Compared with the 10/10 generation, Merkel is undoubtedly particularly fortunate, only one year into politics, she was selected by German Chancellor Kohl to become the youngest minister in the cabinet, responsible for women and children's affairs. After entering politics, Merkel often used her own experience to encourage East Germans to keep an open mind and embrace other people, other experiences, and other ways of life.

As a woman educated and raised in East Germany, Merkel's style of politics and governance was very different from that of her male-dominated contemporaries. Compared with the usual high-profile politicians, Merkel is low-key and pragmatic, never ostentatious, good at action, and speaks with results.

During her 8 years as Minister in Kohl's cabinet, Merkel has had to meet a series of challenges: a new career, a new system, a new country. In this regard, she showed the curiosity and learning ability of scientists, as well as the social skills of natural politicians.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger extended an olive branch, and the ethnically German American politician was curious about Merkel's background, and how her origins and upbringing would affect her political views and behavior. Merkel learned about Western politics through Kissinger and made more connections. Both began a whole new career in a different country and achieved political success. But Kissinger developed a cold realpolitik philosophy because of his Jewish persecution background, while Merkel developed a cautiously optimistic style of politics because of the merger of East and West Germany, which opened up new development opportunities.

Merkel also takes advantage of opportunities to learn about Western institutions. She became good friends with the British ambassador to Germany and learned the details of britain's political system, such as the prime minister's relationship with new section lawmakers, how much time parliamentarians generally spend in their constituencies, and so on.

"There is power in calmness"

In 2005, when Merkel was elected Chancellor of Germany, "calm contains strength" became the motto of her governance, and planning and then moving, not impulsive, seeking consensus, and being willing to compromise became the characteristics of her governance.

Contrary to what most people understand, the German Chancellor has limited room for maneuver in the field of internal affairs, because most of the time several political parties are required to govern jointly, and there are many factors that need to be compromised and taken care of in domestic affairs. Compared with domestic affairs, the German chancellor has a lot of room for foreign policy. But unlike Trump's slogan of "make America great again", Merkel's goal is to make a reunified Germany a normal country, which determines the main policy of her 16-year administration: to work in harmony with the United States; to build an EU with centripetal force, common values, and a common market; to treat China pragmatically, to promote Sino-German trade and investment; to treat Russia rationally, on the one hand, not to reduce its dependence on Russia's energy, and on the other hand to strengthen the security checks and balances on Russia At the same time, promote global cooperation to solve global problems, such as climate warming or refugee crises.

Promoting the development of Sino-German relations shows Merkel's rational, moderate and pragmatic attitude.

She is the most visited Western leader in China, visiting every year during her tenure, because she is well aware of the increasing importance of the Chinese market for German companies, especially large car companies and equipment manufacturers, and she wants to see China's development up close. In dealing with the European debt crisis triggered by the 2008 global financial crisis, she used more than one of her detailed tabular analysis to remind European leaders of how big the productivity gap between Europe and China was. After 2015, with the rapid development of digital technology in China, especially in the field of big data and artificial intelligence, the wide application of face recognition made her realize that Europe and the United States and China are at a disadvantage in the field of digital economy and high-tech applications, for which she has repeatedly called for Europe to have its own digital technology policy.

Understanding China, operating and operating economic and trade relations with China, while learning from China and learning to compete with China in the future, this is the rational and pragmatic side that Merkel has shown. On the flip side is her interest in Chinese history — something that sets her apart from many politicians. For her, history is worth studying, for example, she chose to visit the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an to celebrate her 56th birthday.

Handling relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin reflects Merkel's wisdom and patience. Merkel is one of the few leaders in Europe who can truly engage in in-depth dialogue with Putin and see through his true intentions.

Germany's high dependence on Russian energy, while security issues are among the most sensitive issues for Russia and the West, are key points in the management of Russia's relations.

Merkel and Putin are the same age and have a similar upbringing. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, both were spectators of history, one in Berlin and the other in Dresden, not far from Berlin; shared experiences, understandings but the opposite, one embracing the West and the future, and the other embracing history and empire.

Merkel understands Putin thoroughly because they are also a generation shaped by the Cold War, and Merkel knows very well that it is not easy to embrace change. She once told other Western leaders, "We can learn how to be you, and you can't understand us because our teachers are dead." When she said this, the definition of "we" encompassed all people on the other side of the Cold War, including East Germans as well as Russians.

In 2014, when the Crimean conflict broke out, Merkel actively mediated and launched shuttle diplomacy from the beginning, talking to Putin 38 times in two months. During her meeting with Putin, she spent hours arguing village by village on a map of eastern Ukraine.

She is also the only Western leader who can have direct dialogue with Putin. The two usually started their greetings in Russian — Merkel won the opportunity to go to Moscow when she was 15 years old because she won the East German Russian Olympic Championship — and when it came to specific issues, in order to express them accurately, they switched to German — Putin stayed in Germany for five years, fluent in German, and even sent her daughter to a German school after returning home.

As with all arrogant politicians (the vast majority are men), Merkel usually asks Putin to say it first, and after she talks about it, she responds one by one.

At the moment of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, I believe that the global pair will miss Merkel's figure.

Political blind spot

Patience and patience in dealing with Putin are also Merkel's credo in politics. East Germany's 35 years of growth experience has created her stoic character, but the lack of patience does not mean that she has no ideas, she is just cautious first, not without ambition and ambition.

In a male-dominated world, women's tolerance will make competitors not pay attention to her at first, and the beginning stage of her career begins with being a "political vase", but her ambitions and ambitions allow her to seize any opportunity.

For those politicians who support him, she shows her complex aspects of patience and ruthlessness, patience is to wait for the opportunity, and fierceness is that when these politicians fall into the predicament of their own creation, she will not lend a helping hand because of nostalgia, often choosing to watch the fire from the other side, stepping on their failed bodies, and rising to the political level.

When her political mentor Cole was mired in the "political donation" scandal, she even took the lead in asking the CDU to remove Cole's party chairman. In hindsight, Merkel did indeed lead the CDU out of the most severe political crisis since World War II, but she also learned her cold side for sparing no effort to promote her father-in-law. Essentially, Merkel is a natural political animal.

Highlight moments coexist with low light moments, and the rational and low-key Merkel also has her blind spots.

Out of compassion and Germany's responsibility to humanity, and out of a desire to impress the rest of the European Union, Merkel shocked europe by announcing in 2015 that she would accept 1 million refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. In order to accommodate 1 million refugees, more than 7 million Germans participated in volunteer work, allowing the world to see the other side of Germans. It was a highlight moment for Merkel and Germany.

But unilaterally announcing that Germany has absorbed so many refugees in itself exposes Merkel's three blind spots of overconfidence and rationality.

First, when she decides it's an important and worthwhile thing to do, she's no longer willing to take the time to convince most people, including those who disagree with it. In fact, she can analyze in more detail what are the economic benefits of accepting refugees with an average age of 25 for an aging Germany, in addition to Germany's moral responsibilities. But she didn't.

Second, as a scientist, she always thinks about how to solve problems, but lacks empathy with ordinary people. Merkel thought that ordinary people, like her, could see things rationally, but in fact they were not. Emotional people are often irrational, which requires politicians not only to solve problems, but also to communicate with people who disagree with their ideas, persuade, inspire, and lobby.

Third, after a long time in power, Merkel has also become estranged from voters, especially the lack of understanding of most East Germans.

It was during her last four years that Merkel gradually realized her blind spots. In her early years of political participation, she encouraged East Germans to have an open mind, and she appeared to emphasize that the merger of East and West Germany was the choice of East Germans themselves, and it was the choice of the generation represented by her to the West. The truth is that Merkel cannot represent most East Germans, or that Merkel's experience is a fairy tale of "Cinderella" that is difficult to replicate. After the reunification of the two Germanys, the original ruling class in East Germany was completely purged, and only Merkel, a "political amateur" without any baggage, could have a chance to debut, so Merkel's own achievements were too many accidents, and most East Germans could not replicate them at all.

Nearly thirty years after German reunification, East Germany still has a considerable income gap between West Germany and has become a fertile ground for the development of the far-right German AfD. When Merkel chose to accept 1 million Middle East and North African refugees with open arms, the East Germans asked: What have you done for us?

Extraordinary achievements, because of the ordinary

Despite being aware of her blind spots, Merkel won't change because she's the daughter of a Lutheran priest, a hard-working person. When asked the secret of her success, she answered it with one word – lasting; when asked what she wanted someone to say about her, she answered it with a short sentence: She tried!

Because of the ordinary, it is the extraordinary, which is the most important legacy left by Merkel.

She is an ordinary woman herself, although she is in a high position, she still chooses to live a simple life, going to the cabin with her husband for the weekend, cooking together, doing housework together, reading and chatting together, and enjoying the world of two. She credits her political success to her partner, because when she is confused, "Mr. One" chemist Joachim Sauer will give her important outside perspectives on how her decisions affect ordinary people.

When she was a student at the University of Leipzig, she was not a high-looking girl, but joined the CDU (ClubderUngekus-seten). Coincidentally, she later joined and led the political party CDU, which is also cDU in German. She had two marriages, the first of which broke up peacefully early and retained Merkel's husband's surname. In the second relationship, she chose not to have children, because she only started politics at the age of 35, and she knew very well that if she wanted to improve politically, she would have to give up childbearing.

When a conservative German cardinal denounced her for being single, she fought back, but in 1998 she married her boyfriend in a low-key manner, clearing the way for a further political rise in a relatively conservative society. She tried her best to protect her private life, and the "first gentleman" Sauer during the reign was called the "Phantom of the Theatre", on the one hand, he loved opera as much as Merkel, on the other hand, because Merkel insisted on protecting privacy, his life was not disturbed, and even when Merkel visited Britain, he could jump off the car to take the subway to Piccadilly to meet his friends, which made Merkel herself envious.

Merkel doesn't talk about feminism because she's a woman or benefits from feminism, but she goes to great lengths to promote female leaders. At the first opportunity, she meets with female leaders to discuss a range of issues of women's success: How can women combine leadership work with their private lives? When you are the only woman in the room (in meetings, in decision-making), how do you deal with it?

Her interaction with the two French presidents also fully demonstrated the personality of ordinary people. French President Sarkozy during the European debt crisis was a man of great fanfare, and Merkel once said to Sarkozy: Sitting next to you, I feel like an "energy-saving lamp". With the "energy-saving lamp" situation, on the one hand, it highlights Sarkozy's flamboyant personality, on the other hand, it is also a portrayal of Merkel's silent efforts to deal with difficult problems. In 2017, when the 39-year-old economist Macron was elected president of France, Merkel joined hands with Macron to promote the policy of European integration, and once said to the much younger Macron: I know you like to break things, I have to help you clean up the battlefield in the back.

She also quoted the German poet Hesse to remind Macron that every beginning has a little magic, but only the result can make the miracle last. Merkel continues her legend with continuous achievements.

As a woman, she became the longest-serving chancellor in Germany's post-war history and the first female leader; as a woman who grew up in East Germany, she became the third chancellor after German reunification; and as a scientist, she successfully turned politician and achieved outstanding results.

Merkel broke through the triple bottleneck and achieved extraordinary, but still humble and decent, ordinary as ever.