Angela Merkel: Difference between revisions

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	{{Infobox Chancellor\|name=Angela Merkel
	\|nationality=german
	\|image name=Angela Merkel PD3.jpg
	\|order=34th ]<br>(8th of the Federal Republic)
	\|date1=], ]
	\|date2=
	\|preceded=]
	\|succeeded=''Incumbent''
	\|date of birth=], ]
	\|place of birth=]
	\|dead=alive
	\|date of death= N/A
	\|place of death= N/A
	\|wife=]
	\|religion=]
	\|party=]
	\|vicepresident=
	}}
	Dr. '''Angela Dorothea Merkel''' (born ], ]), is the 34th ]. As a member of the ] (CDU) she leads a coalition with its sister party, the ] (CSU), and with the ] (SPD). The coalition was formed after two months of negotiations following the ].

	Merkel, elected to the ] from ], has been the chairwoman of the CDU since 2000, and Chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary party group from 2002 to 2005. She is the first female Chancellor of Germany and the first woman to lead Germany since it became a modern ] in 1871.

	==Background==

	Merkel was born '''Angela Dorothea Kasner''' in ], the daughter of Horst Kasner, a ] pastor, and his wife Herlind (née Jentzsch), a teacher. In 1954 her father received a pastorship at the church in ] at ], and the family moved to Templin. Merkel grew up in the countryside only 80km (50 mi) north of ], in ] ] (GDR). She was educated in ] and at the ], where she studied physics (1973-78). Merkel worked and studied at the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences (1978-90). After graduating with a doctorate in physics she worked in ].

	In 1989, she got involved in the growing ] movement after the ], joining the new party ]. Following the first (and only) democratic election in the GDR, she became the deputy spokesperson of the new government under ]. At the first post-reunification general election in December 1990, she was elected to the Bundestag from a ] which includes the ] of ] and ], as well as the city of ]. Her party merged with the west German CDU and she became Minister for Women and Youth in ]'s cabinet. In 1994, she was made Minister for the Environment and Reactor Safety, which gave her greater political visibility and a platform on which to build her political career. As one of Kohl's protégées and his youngest cabinet minister, she was referred to as "das Mädchen" ("the girl") by Kohl.

	According to an article in ], her background in the former GDR has served her well in post-reunification politics. For the first 36 years of her life, she honed her skills at disguising her inner thoughts and feelings — essential for survival in a society where every room might contain a State Security Police (]) informer, and especially for a pastor's daughter. Speaking near-perfect English and remarking on her background as an "]", she says: "Anyone who really has something to say doesn't need ]."

	From 1977 until their divorce in 1982, she was married to physicist ]. Since 1998, she has been married to Berlin chemistry professor ] and has no children.

	==Leader of the Opposition==

	When the Kohl government was ], Merkel was named Secretary-General of the CDU. In this position, Merkel oversaw a string of Christian Democrat election victories in six out of seven provincial elections in 1999 alone, breaking the SPD-Green coalition's hold on the ], the legislative body representing the states. Following a party financing ] which compromised many leading figures of the CDU (most notably Kohl himself and then-party chairman ], Kohl's hand-picked successor), Merkel criticized her former mentor, Kohl, and advocated a fresh start for the party without him. She was elected to replace Schäuble, becoming the first female chair of her party, on ], ]. Her election surprised many observers, as her personality offered a contrast to the party she had been chosen to lead; Merkel is a Protestant woman, originating from predominantly Protestant northern Germany, while the CDU is a male-dominated, socially conservative party with deep ] roots, and has its stronghold in southern Germany. In November of 2001, despite her pledge to clean up the party, she refused to hold further inquiries into the financing scandal.

	Following Merkel's selection as CDU leader, she enjoyed considerable popularity among the German population and was favoured by Germans to become ]'s challenger in the ]. However, she was unpopular in her own party and particularly its sister party (the ]n ], or CSU), and was subsequently out-manoeuvred politically by CSU leader ], who had had the privilege of challenging Schröder but squandered a large lead in the opinion polls to lose narrowly. After Stoiber's defeat in 2002, in addition to her role as CDU chairwoman, Merkel became leader of the conservative opposition in the lower house of the German parliament, the ]. Her rival, ], who had held the post of parliamentary leader prior to the 2002 election, was eased out to make way for Merkel.

	===Political platform===

	Merkel supported a substantial ] agenda concerning Germany's economic and social system and was considered to be more pro-] (and pro-]) than her own party (the CDU); she advocated changes to German labour law, specifically, removing barriers to firing employees and increasing the allowed number of work hours in a week, arguing that existing laws made the country less competitive because companies cannot easily control labour costs at times when business is slow. She argued for Germany's ] to be phased out less quickly than the Schröder administration had planned.

	Merkel advocated a strong transatlantic partnership and German-American friendship. In the spring of 2003, defying strong public opposition, Merkel came out in favour of the ], describing it as "unavoidable" and accusing Chancellor ] of ]. This led some critics to characterize her as an American ]. She criticised the government's support for ] in the ] and favoured a "privileged partnership" instead. In doing so, she was seen as being in unison with an overwhelming majority of Germans in rejecting Turkish membership in the European Union, particularly due to fears that large waves of ] may impose an unbearable burden on Germany and that there would be too much ] influence within the ].

	===Comparisons===

	In the ] as well as the German press, Merkel has been compared by many to former ] ], each a female politician from ] parties, as well as scientist. Some have referred to her as "Iron Lady" or "Iron Girl" (alluding to Thatcher); despite the name, some political commentators see little similarity between their respective agendas.

	==Candidacy for Chancellor==

	]

	On ], ], she won the CDU/CSU nomination as challenger to Chancellor ] of the ] in the ]. Her party began the campaign with a 21% lead over the ] in national ]s, although her personal popularity lagged behind that of the ]. However, the CDU/CSU campaign suffered when Merkel, having made economic competence central to the CDU's platform, she confused ] and ] twice during a televised debate. She regained some momentum after she announced that she would appoint ], a former judge at the German Constitutional Court and leading fiscal policy expert, as Minister of Finance.

	Both Merkel herself and the CDU again lost ground significantly after Kirchhof proposed the introduction of a ] in Germany, again undermining the party's credibility on economic affairs and convincing many voters that the CDU's platform of deregulation was designed to benefit only the rich. THis was compounded by Merkel proposing to increase ] to reduce Germany's deficit and fill the gap in revenue from a flat tax. The SPD were able to increase their support simply by pledging not to introduce flat taxes or increase VAT. Although Merkel's standing recovered after she distanced herself from Kirchhof's proposals, she remained considerably less popular than Schröder, and the CDU's lead was down to 9% on the eve of the election.

	Merkel was also criticized for imitating a passage from a speech used by ] ] in a 1980 US presidential debate for her own television election duel with Gerhard Schröder, the Social Democratic chancellor. Her closing remarks in the debate had the following statements: ''"In two weeks you will make your decision about the election. Perhaps answering a few questions will help you to make your decision: Is our country better off than seven years ago? Is growth higher? Is unemployment lower? Do we have less ]? Are our pensions and ] better?" "If you can answer yes to all of these questions, then I think you have probably already decided who you will vote for. But if you have any doubt, if you do not want things to carry on as they are, then you have a choice."''

	This was obviously similiar to the statements of Reagan: ''"Next Tuesday all of you will go to the polls, will stand there in the polling place and make a decision. I think when you make that decision, it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was? Do you feel that our security is as safe, that we're as strong as we were four years ago? And if you answer all of those questions yes, why then, I think your choice is very obvious as to whom you will vote for. If you don't agree, if you don't think that this course that we've been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow for the next four, then I could suggest another choice that you have."''

	On ], Merkel's CDU/CSU and Schröder's SPD went head-to-head in the national elections, with the CDU/CSU winning 35% of the vote to the SPD's 34%. Neither the SPD-Green coalition nor the CDU/CSU and its preferred coalition partners, the ], held enough seats to form a majority in the Bundestag, and both Schröder and Merkel claimed victory. A ] between the CDU/CSU and SPD faced the challenge that both parties demanded the chancellorship. However, after three weeks of ]s, the two parties reached a deal whereby Merkel would become Chancellor and the SPD would hold 8 of the 16 seats in the cabinet., The coalition deal was approved by both parties at party conferences on ]. Merkel was elected Chancellor by the majority of delegates (397 to 217) in the newly assembled Bundestag on ]. {{wikinews\|Schröder gives up German chancellorship ambitions, makes way for Merkel}}

	Reports have indicated that the Grand Coalition will pursue a mix of policies, some of which directly contradict aspects of Merkel's political platform as leader of the opposition and candidate for Chancellor. The coalition intends to cut public spending whilst increasing ], ] contributions and the top rate of ]. Employment protection will no longer cover employees during their first two years in a job, pensions will be frozen and subsidies for first-time home buyers will be scrapped. On foreign policy, Germany will maintain its strong ties with ] and eastern European states, particularly ], and will continue its support for ] one day joining the ]. However it is unlikely Germany will push for a lifting of the ] on arms sales to the ], as Merkel has repeatedly stated her opposition to such a move.

	Merkel has stated that the main aim of her government will be to reduce unemployment, and that it is this issue on which her government will be judged.

	==Chancellor==
	]]]

	Her first foreign trip took place the day after she was sworn in as Chancellor, and went to ] for a meeting with ]. In his speech, Chirac emphasized the importance of the German-French Axis for Europe. After the meeting with Chirac, she travelled to ] for talks with EU leaders and secretary general of the ], ].

	==Merkel's Cabinet==

	The Cabinet of Angela Merkel was sworn in at 16:00 ], November 22, 2005.

	* Angela Merkel (CDU) — Chancellor
	** ] (CDU) — Minister for Special Affairs and Chief of the ]
	* ] (SPD) — Vice Chancellor and Minister for Labour and Social Affairs
	* ] (SPD) — Minister of Foreign Affairs
	* ] (CDU) — Minister of the Interior
	* ] (CDU) — Minister of Defence
	* ] (SPD) — Minister of Justice
	* ] (SPD) — Minister of Finance
	* ] (CSU) — Minister for Economics and Technology
	* ] (CSU) — Minister for Consumer Protection, Food, and Agriculture
	* ] (SPD) — Minister for Health
	* ] (SPD) — Minister for Transport, Building, Urban Development and Development of East Germany
	* ] (CDU) — Minister for Family, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth
	* ] (CDU) — Minister for Research and Education
	* ] (SPD) — Minister for Environment
	* ] (SPD) — Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development

	On ], after the defeat of his favored candidate for the position of Secretary General of the SPD, ] indicated that he will resign as Chairman of the party in November. Ostensibly responding to this, ] (CSU), who was originally nominated for the Economics and Technology post, announced his withdrawal on ]. While this was initially seen as a blow to Merkel's attempt at forming a viable coalition and cabinet, the manner in which Stoiber withdrew has earned him much ridicule and has severely undermined his position as a Merkel rival. Separate conferences of the CDU, CSU and SPD approved the proposed Cabinet on ].

	See: ; ;



	==Quotations==

	*Merkel is of the opinion that the ] has failed to define its common interests "for the (commercial) battles of the future" now that Europe's ] priorities of keeping "peace and freedom" have been achieved: "This is where I think Europe needs to learn a lot, not to concentrate too much on whether bicycle paths are built the same way in ] and north-west Germany."
	*Domestically, Merkel has advocated change in the country's consensual model: "In Germany, we are always facing the danger that we are a little bit too slow. We have to speed up our changes."
	*"The ] has to be the ], not the ]."
	*After reaching a deal with the ] to form a ], Merkel stated: "I am absolutely certain — I know — that the success of this coalition will be measured by the question: Are there more jobs?"
	*Merkel urged her party to approve the deal at a conference in ], saying: "Germany stands at a crossroads where it is about whether we will preserve what makes this country strong - a social market economy in times of globalisation."

	==Trivia==

	* In her office she has a picture of Russian Empress ], a German-born princess described by Merkel as "a strong woman".
	* Her doctoral ] was entitled "The Calculation of Speed Constants of Elementary Reactions in Simple Carbohydrates."

	==Published works==

	*Angela Merkel, Ilka Böger, Hans Joachim Spangenberg, Lutz Zülicke: "Berechnung von Hochdruck-Geschwindigkeitskonstanten für Zerfalls- und Rekombinationsreaktionen einfacher Kohlenwasserstoffmoleküle und -radikale" ''("Calculation of High Pressure Velocity Constants for Reactions of Decay and Recombinations of simple ] Molecules and Radicals")'', ''Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie''. 1982, 263 (3), S. 449-460
	*Angela Merkel, Lutz Zülicke: "Berechnung von Geschwindigkeitskonstanten für den C-H-Bindungsbruch im Methylradikal" ''("Calculation of Velocity Constants for the Break of the Carbon-Hydrogen-Bond in the Methyl Radical")'', ''Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie''. 1985, 266 (2), S. 353-361,
	*Angela Merkel, Lutz Zülicke, "Nonempirical parameter estimate for the statistical adiabatic theory of unimolecular fragmentation carbon-hydrogen bond breaking in methyl", ''Molecular Physics'', 1987, 60(6), 1379-1393,
	*Angela Merkel, Zdenek Havlas, ], "Evaluation of the rate constant for the S<sub>N</sub>2 reaction fluoromethane + hydride: methane + fluoride in the gas phase", ''Journal of American Chemical Society'', 1988, 110(25), 8355-8359.

	==External links==
	*{{de icon}}
	*{{de icon}} - Her official website.
	* - Official party website.
	*{{PND\|119545373}}
	* - report from Deutsche Welle.
	*], '']'', September 16, 2005, German Nobel prize-winning author expresses his view against Merkel and in favour of Schröder
	* ,By Lena Sokoll , July 8, 2005 (engl. version)
	* Political satire at Carnival Parades is a very old and proud German tradition. Here George W. Bush and Merkel are ridiculed because of their stance on the Iraq war.
	*{{de icon}} - A weblog for Merkel.
	*{{de icon}} - A weblog opposing Merkel's candidacy.
	*Ruth Elkins, '']'', June 19, 2005,
	*Clay Risen, '']'', July 5, 2005,
	*Severin Weiland, '']'', June 3, 2005,
	*{{de icon}} , Merkel parody from the traditional deriding of politicians at the inauguration of the strong-beer season at the ], 2000
	*Ralf Neukirch, '']'', October 11, 2005,
	*DW staff, '']'', October 11, 2005,
	*Ralf Neukirch, Gabor Steingart and Stefan Aust ], Interview with Chancellor-designate Angel Merkel, October 17, 2005,
	* October 11, 2005, Profile of Angela Merkel's career from www.expatica.com

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Revision as of 18:07, 23 November 2005