The Life and Legacy of Angela Merkel

With the results of Germany’s most recent election, and Angela Merkel’s political career coming to an end, many people are now thinking about what is next for the country. In order to understand the future of Germany, however, I believe it is important to take a look at its past, and especially the past of its only female chancellor, whose political legacy will remain relevant for decades, if not centuries.

Angela Merkel was born in Hamburg on July. 17, 1954, which was at the time situated in East Germany. She studied physics at university, which brought a unique and refreshing perspective from the leader of a Christian party, especially in the populist age of Trump-like science deniers. The election that brought her to power in 2005 failed to produce a clear winner - her party, the CDU/CSU, or the Union for short (which is made up of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian-Social Union) got 35.2 percent of the vote and the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) got 34.2 percent. They agreed to a coalition, and Merkel, as the leader of the slightly dominant party, became the leader of the country. She has served four terms since then and is the second-longest serving German Chancellor.

Merkel debating with Trump at the 2018 G7 Conference. Photo from Angela Merkel’s Instagram.

Merkel was mentored by Helmet Kohl, former Chancellor of Germany and leader of the CDU. She was one of the very few women in German politics at the time and was promoted very quickly, first to minister for women and youth, then minister for the environment, nature conservation, and nuclear safety, and deputy leader of the party. An outwardly demure and non-confrontational character, Merkel wrote an open letter to her party encouraging them to get rid of Kohl in favor of herself. This apparent ruthlessness, which she exercised not only over Kohl but over other male rivals, earned her the nickname ‘Angie the Snake’, an unfair label used by sexists and embarrassed former adversaries to undermine an extraordinary woman who was trying to survive in an industry that had hitherto been largely inaccessible to her entire gender.

Another of Merkel’s nicknames was the Queen of Europe. As one of the longest-ruling leaders of the EU, her pragmatism has helped the organization manage many difficult situations. However, there has been criticism that her position of power within Europe could have been used for more, but that her reluctance to make tough decisions stopped her. As well as that, some countries believe that the austerity measures she helped implement were made purely to benefit Germany and not Europe as a whole. Despite any criticisms, however, she was undoubtedly instrumental in saving the Euro from collapse, as well as contributing massively to the EU Covid Recovery fund, which helped support European countries that struggled economically due to the pandemic.

As well as being the first female Chancellor, Merkel was also the first to have been born in old East Germany. East Germany was when Germany was separated into two states by the Berlin Wall, half of the country owned by the Soviet Union. Although technically a Socialist state, many of the communist idealisms, and even some of the people, from the Soviet Union, were adopted here. Growing up in such a place helped teach Merkel to be strong, strict, and hardworking, as well as close-lipped, as the whistleblowing ethos of the Russians had very much followed them to Germany. This perhaps made up much of her unshakeable and often seemingly emotionless demeanor but also equipped her with the drive to succeed in such a cut-throat world.

When addressing Germans on the matter of Syrian refugees in 2015, Merkel’s famous quote was “We can do this!”, or “Wir shaffen das!” in German. As a country that will forever live under the devastating shadow of the Nazi Party, it is important for Germany to at least appear to welcome people of all cultures and backgrounds, and Merkel’s policies promised to turn Germany into the most welcoming and generous refugee haven in Europe. As a former East-German, she has faced discrimination throughout her life for being an ‘outsider’, so she has always understood the plight of immigrants and refugees living in Germany. Her initial idea of admitting almost a million refugees to the country was incredibly generous, and in theory, should have been extremely effective and supported unanimously by the German public. However, in reality, this process was very badly organized, and the government was not ready to process this many asylum applications at once. This led to many refugees sleeping rough while they awaited the outcome of their application, which not only led to inadequate quality of life for refugees for months at a time but also a loss of confidence from the German people that Merkel had control of the situation. As well as that, changes to immigration policies in the country have meant that it is harder for refugees to gain entry to and acceptance in Germany, so her initial reputation as a savior of the less fortunate has waned considerably.

Angela Merkel’s career may have been varied, and at times questionable, but which politician has not faced controversy throughout their careers? She took control of one of Europe’s most powerful countries and managed to steer it through 16 years of ups and downs, whilst fighting off discrimination based on her gender and background. In a time of outgoing populist leaders, she remained a steady and reliable figure who never once bent to the whims of Trump-style bullies. She always had the best interests of Germany and Europe at heart, and will surely go down in history as a brilliant leader that will inspire generations of women, both German and otherwise, to not let anything stand in the way of their success.