The Quiet German: The astonishing rise of Angela Merkel

[Sheilbh]

Personally I'd be pleased with a few more of that sort of leader as a opposed to the image driven, sound-bite ready and 24 news-cycle focused modern western politician.

I was struck with the similarities of pieces I've read about Theresa May.

[Jacob]

I read the article too - followed the link, it's an easier read there - and it is quite interesting. The description of the relationship between Merkel and Putin is fascinating. I like the little jab at Cameron and Hollande.

"She's talked to Putin more than Obama, Hollande, and Cameron combined have over these past months," the senior official said. "She has a way of talking to him that nobody has. Cameron and Hollande call him to be able to say they're world leaders and had the conversation."

Overall, it paints a pretty positive picture of Merkel.

[Zanza]

If she stands for re-election in 2017, she will be re-elected. There is no other politician in sight who could successfully challange her.

[Martinus]

Ok so I read the article as well, and it is in fact quite interesting. I have always liked Merkel and like her more now, even though she is quite a complex figure.

This is also quite an interesting observation:

Several people in Berlin suggested that this difficult, forgotten book had something to say about Germany in the age of Merkel. The country's peaceful reunification and its strength through the euro crisis might be returning Germany to an identity that's older than the postwar Federal Republic, whose Basic Law was written under heavy American influence. "West Germany was a good country," Georg Diez, a columnist and author, told me. "It was young, sexy, daring, Western—American. But maybe it was only a skin. Germany is becoming more German, less Western. Germany has discovered its national roots."

Diez didn't mean that this was a good thing. He meant that Germany is becoming less democratic, because what Germans fundamentally want is stability, security, economic growth—above all, to be left in peace while someone else watches their money and keeps their country out of wars. They have exactly the Chancellor they want. "Merkel took the politics out of politics," Diez said.

Piketty makes a similar point in his book, although looks at it from the perspective of economy - he points out that the capitalisation of German firms is lower than that of their US or UK equivalents with similar results and assets, and attributes it to the German corporatism - namely, the existence of various stakeholders (other than just stockholders) who participate in decision making, such as workers councils or local authorities. He does not say expressly it is a bad thing though - rather it is a trade off between lower capital but higher social cohesion.

In Civilization 4 terms, America and England are running an economy based on huts, whereas Germany firmly has one based on specialists.

[Razgovory]

Exec summary, por favor.

you're assuming that Tim actually read the article.

Of course I did

Did you know you only posted half of it then, stopping midway through a sentence?

[Zanza]

"West Germany was a good country," Georg Diez, a columnist and author, told me. "It was young, sexy, daring, Western—American.

Eh? West Germany until 1968 was Western of course, but it was arch-conservative. It might have been young, sexy and daring for a brief period in the 1970s, but in the 1980s it went back to conservative politics.

Diez didn't mean that this was a good thing. He meant that Germany is becoming less democratic, because what Germans fundamentally want is stability, security, economic growth—above all, to be left in peace while someone else watches their money and keeps their country out of wars.

While I agree that Germans want stability, security and economic growth, I am not sure if these goals exclude being democratic. Germany is extremely consensus oriented of course, but then so is Switzerland and no one would see a democratic deficit there either.

[DGuller]

Exec summary, por favor.

you're assuming that Tim actually read the article.

Of course I did

Did you know you only posted half of it then, stopping midway through a sentence?

[Eddie Teach]

I'd settle for a Cliff notes of the first half.

[DGuller]

I'd settle for a Cliff notes of the first half.

[Eddie Teach]

You made this part up, didn't you.

[DGuller]

You made this part up, didn't you.

Obviously it should not be taken literally.

[jimmy olsen]

Exec summary, por favor.

you're assuming that Tim actually read the article.

Of course I did

Did you know you only posted half of it then, stopping midway through a sentence?

I read it over at the New Yorker. No idea how that happened. I just tried to update it with the rest but it doesn't seem to be taking. Over the limit maybe?

[Jacob]

I read it over at the New Yorker. No idea how that happened. I just tried to update it with the rest but it doesn't seem to be taking. Over the limit maybe?

Since the New Yorker doesn't require a subscription, why don't you just post a link next time with a few selected highlights?

[PRC]

Allegedly this is a young Angela Merkel, on the left, at a nude beach (NSFW): http://i.imgur.com/kj8CvZb.jpg

[PRC]

Speaking of Bush, here is a video of Angela Merkel being creeped out by one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTQY1Aw9zcs