In Germany, the results of the elections to the Bundestag have been officially announced and these results have already produced the effect of a bomb exploding. , but the face of German politics is changing dramatically. The Social Democrats are leaving the coalition with the CDU-CSU, and the radical Eurosceptics Alternative for Germany are triumphantly entering parliament. And it will no longer be possible for both Berlin and Brussels to ignore them and their voters - mainly from the eastern lands.
Angela Merkel won. Angela Merkel lost. Today both of these statements are equally true. 33% would allow her to remain chancellor, but this is the Christian Democrats' worst result since 1949.
“There is a polarization that is associated with me as a person, this is obvious: of course, we were counting on a better result,” she admitted.
The Social Democrats suffered the same heaviest defeat in their history. Despite the fundamental opportunity to recreate a grand coalition, the CDU - SPD, which now rules in Germany, party leader Martin Schulz is transferring the party to the opposition.
“We see our 20 and a half percent of the vote as a call to create a strong opposition to defend democracy in this country from those who attack and question it,” said the leader of Germany’s Social Democratic Party.
The SPD voter went to the Free Democrats. German liberals are returning to parliament, where they have not been for four years. Merkel will create the next government together with them and with the greens, who took their due 8.9%. But the black-yellow-green coalition is still far away, like Jamaica: one of the most noticeable contradictions is the attitude towards diesel. Merkel hopes that a coalition agreement can be signed by Christmas.
The undisputed winner of these elections was the Alternative for Germany. 12.6% make Eurosceptics advocating a return German mark, closing borders and lifting anti-Russian sanctions, a third force in the Bundestag. “We are starting the hunt for Merkel,” said one of the leaders of the Alternative, Alexander Gauland.
"Name at least one rational dialogue in the Bundestag - about anti-Russian sanctions, the NSA surveillance scandal, saving the euro. They no longer exist, they were apathetic in nature. We want to create a culture of dialogue in the Bundestag so that people know what decisions we are making and who stands behind these decisions,” Gauland said.
The way Germans voted for the far right clearly shows that there are still two Germanys. All eastern states, with the exception of leftist Berlin, brought the Eurosceptics into second place, and in Saxony the party came first. If we sum up the result of the Alternative with the result of the Left party - 9%, Merkel gets a parliament, with a fifth of which it is almost impossible to come to an agreement.
Another bad news for Merkel is that, having lost more than 10% of their land, the Bavarian Christian Social Union remembered that it is an independent party. Its leader, Horst Seehofer, hinted that the CSU might even think about forming a faction separate from the CDU. Angela Merkel's ship has stayed afloat, but it sets sail with a large hole.
In the world
In Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin is congratulated on his victory in the elections. One of the first to comment on the voting results was the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, which sharply criticizes Chancellor Angela Merkel for her domestic and foreign policies.
“We congratulate Vladimir Putin on his re-election as Russian president,” said Alternative for Germany co-chairs Jörg Meuthen and Alexander Gauland in a joint statement. Politicians wished the head Russian state success and political prudence.
In addition, the party leaders said that they were in favor of starting a dialogue with Moscow and returning relations between the two countries “to a normal and constructive direction.” Among other things, this involves the lifting of economic sanctions that harm bilateral ties, the politicians added.
Vladimir Putin was congratulated by the alliance of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), the ruling German political union, which is headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel. The statement calls on Moscow to improve relations with Western countries. In response, Berlin is ready to support the modernization of the Russian economy.
Alternative for Germany is a conservative party that criticizes Angela Merkel's domestic and foreign policies. In the parliamentary elections last September, the party, unexpectedly for many, gained 12.6% of the vote and became the fourth force in the Bundestag. “Alternatives” advocate tightening state migration policy, lifting economic sanctions and strengthening relations with Moscow.
The victory of Putin, who is quite popular in Germany, could lead to strengthening of conservative tendencies in German social and political life and strengthening the position of the Alternative. This does not bode well for Merkel, whose position is already weak.
On Sunday, March 18, the seventh presidential elections took place in Russia. Eight candidates ran for the highest government post. Polling stations were open from 08:00 to 20:00 local time.
After processing 99% of the protocols, the current President Vladimir Putin is the undisputed leader in the presidential elections. According to the Central Election Commission, he receives 76.66% of the votes. In second place was the candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Pavel Grudinin - 11.80%, third place was taken by the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky (5.66%). Turnout exceeded 67%.
The “predictable partner” for Russia remains in the running, despite slightly falling support and voter fatigue
Political long-liver Angela Merkel was elected to the post of Federal Chancellor of Germany for the fourth time in the morning - with a small margin of only 9 votes. Today, the country's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will hand her the letter of appointment and she will take the oath of office before the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. BUSINESS Online experts discuss how to morally endure a fourth term and whether the fish-and-beer friendship between the German Chancellor and Vladimir Putin will continue.
Angela Merkel is the first and only woman to serve as Federal Chancellor in German history. She has held it for almost 13 years, and Putin has actually been at the helm of Russia for 18 years. In this regard, she has a lot to learn from the Russian president Photo: kremlin.ru
ANGELS MERKEL'S FOURTH TERM
Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel will remain in office for a fourth term. This decision was officially supported by Bundestag deputies at a vote this morning. Of the 688 valid ballots for the chancellor, 364 were cast, 315 people voted against, and another 9 abstained. Her supporters, according to media reports, greeted the result with a lengthy standing ovation.
Let us recall that 399 of the 709 deputies of the Bundestag represent parties included in the government coalition: the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which is headed by Merkel, the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which agreed to the coalition. To be re-elected, the chancellor only needed to get 355 votes, and she crossed the equator - I must say, with an insignificant margin of 9 votes.
The voting session in the Bundestag opened at exactly 9:00. Her mother came to support Mrs Merkel Gerlind Kastner and spouse Joachim Sauer. After the roll call, the deputies went to the booths for secret voting, and then during a break, a special commission counted the ballots. When the voting results were announced, Mrs. Merkel went to the Bellevue presidential palace to meet with the head of state Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Later on Wednesday, Deutsche Welle reports, the president is due to present Merkel with her letter of appointment as federal chancellor. She will then be sworn in before the Bundestag and Bundesrat (Federal Council). The first meeting of the renewed German government will take place in the afternoon.
The process of forming a new government lasted 171 days and became the longest in the history of post-war Germany. According to the results of the Bundestag elections held on September 24, 2017, the CDU/CSU bloc received 33% of the votes, the SPD - 20.5%, the Left Party - 9.2%, the Union 90/Greens - 8.9%, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) - 10.7%, right-wing populist Alternative for Germany - 12.6%. Since none of the parties that entered the Bundestag achieved a government majority, the winners of the elections—the conservatives from the CDU/CSU—were forced to begin consultations on forming a coalition with other parties. The first attempt to reach an agreement with the FDP liberals and the Greens ended in failure at the end of 2017. And only on March 12, 2018, after tense negotiations between the CDU/CSU and the SPD, a coalition agreement was signed and a new German government was formed.
ONLY PUTIN IS LONGER
Merkel, 64, is the first and only woman to serve as federal chancellor in German history. She has held this position for almost 13 years, having replaced the head of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in this position in 2005. Gerhard Schroeder. Since 2000, Merkel has served as head of Germany's largest party, the Christian Democratic Union. Merkel has been named the most influential female politician in the world 12 times by Forbes magazine and has repeatedly been included in the list of the most influential people on the planet by other publications.
By education, the chancellor is a physical chemist. Merkel entered politics in 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, joining the Democratic Breakthrough party, which then merged with the CDU. In 1991 she entered the government, becoming the Federal Minister for Women and Youth Affairs, and in 1994 - the Minister of Security environment. In the late 1990s, she received the post of General Secretary of the CDU, which began to strengthen its position in the Bundestag, and 10 years later she became the head of the Union.
Since the end of 2000, Merkel has been trying to introduce the concept of a “new social market economy" Regarding the migration crisis, the chancellor acknowledges that Islam is part of Germany, just like Judaism and Christianity, but believes that migrants should integrate more actively into German society, in particular by learning the language. In 2010, Merkel told the CDU that the policy of multiculturalism had failed completely in Germany.
In foreign policy, Merkel is known for her unconditional support for European values, focusing on rapprochement with the United States as a strategic partner to guarantee peace and stability in Europe. She repeatedly criticized Schröderaz's "excessive" friendship with Vladimir Putin and announced that she would take a tougher stance against Russia if she were elected chancellor. Nevertheless, after Merkel headed the German government, Russian-German relations did not undergo any significant changes. Merkel and Putin meet regularly, including at informal meetings, demonstrating mutual, albeit restrained, friendliness. The other day, Merkel mentioned that during her visits to Russia she gives Vladimir Vladimirovich German beer. Among the return gifts she remembers is “very good smoked fish.” The President of the Russian Federation in an interview for the film “Putin” Andrey Kondrashov also stated that Merkel “brings a few bottles of Radenberg beer from time to time.”
It is worth noting that the politicians have a lot in common: Merkel has been in power for 13 years, and Putin has actually been at the helm of Russia for 18 years. In this regard, the German chancellor, one might say, has a lot to learn from the Russian president.
Overall it shares general trends relations between Europe and Russia. During the political crisis in Ukraine and the subsequent annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation and the war in Donbass, Merkel expressed disapproval of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. In her opinion, “the criminal annexation of Crimea, which violates international law, and the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine” have seriously undermined Russian-German relations. He is a supporter of the introduction and extension of sanctions against Russia, which led to retaliatory counter-sanctions from the authorities of the Russian Federation in 2014. As a result of sanctions and counter-sanctions, the drop in trade turnover between Russia and Germany in 2014 was 12%, falling to 67.7 billion euros, in 2015 - by 24% (51.5 billion euros), in 2016 - by 7, 2% (48 billion euros).
“THE FOURTH TERM WILL BE THE MOST DIFFICULT FOR HER”
BUSINESS Online asked experts what Merkel’s new re-election means for world politics and how it is useful for Russia.
Ekaterina Timoshenkova— Deputy Head of the Center for German Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences:
— Indeed, Angela Merkel was elected chancellor for the fourth time today, but for the first time she received very little support during the voting. This was the most difficult election, because the margin in her favor was only 9 votes. If you look at her political career as chancellor, she had two difficult periods: the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, after she let in refugees and the population faced massive attacks. Then an opposition formed against her, and she was threatened with a vote of constitutional no-confidence. But she managed to overcome this crisis and pass certain legislative acts that made it easier to expel refugees without status. But because of this immigration crisis, which actually split the country in two, this election campaign was the most difficult. And the result of this immigration policy was the success of the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany.
Therefore, today's election of Merkel once again emphasizes that her candidacy is becoming vulnerable, even though she remains the only leader who can more or less unite Germans.
The fact that she negotiated the creation of a government of a coalition of Jamaica parties and these negotiations failed also adds to her negative perception. But here we also need to add the objective fatigue of voters. And the German chancellors, who were also running for a fourth term - Adenauer and Kohl - also failed during this term to achieve the popularity and weight of support that they could demonstrate at the beginning or in the second term. The fourth term is always a long time, because fatigue always takes its toll and there is a desire to change the leader.
But in this case, this migration crisis not only divided the population, but also exacerbated the contradictions within Merkel’s own party, so she was forced to make many compromise decisions and gave a lot of concessions to the Social Democrats. We see this both in the coalition agreement and in the way the ministries were distributed. For example, the Social Democrats received the very important Ministry of Finance, which the winning party traditionally keeps for itself and which has been occupied by the CDU for many years. They received the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is nice for us, the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of the Environment, Family and Justice. There are 6 ministries in total. That is, in fact, the Social Democrats won this coalition agreement, despite the fact that they received poor results in the elections. And naturally, such a compromise agreement causes criticism in the ranks of her own party, so Merkel was forced to invite some ministers whom she did not want to see into her government.
Therefore, this fourth term will be the most difficult for her. She will have to solve the issue of migration and refugees again, she will have to force Europe to accept them. She will have to go for reforms to reform the European Union together with Emmanuel Macron, and there are different variants and not everything will be very smooth. In addition, the issue of support for vulnerable sections of the population among German citizens may become more acute. This can already be seen from the discussions taking place today. That is, it has two main areas of work: migration and support for socially vulnerable segments of the population. These are two stumbling blocks for the new government, plus the Social Democrats have already announced that they will take a tougher line than in previous governments. They performed poorly in the elections, they are losing by joining Merkel's government, and they need to sharpen their profile. To do this, they need to criticize it more and prove to voters that they are not a junior partner, but a party that will determine policy.
For us, Angela Merkel is a fairly predictable partner. On the one hand, she is not a figure who will make unilateral concessions; she is, first of all, a member of the European Union and a member of NATO. On the other hand, Merkel always tries to balance out her negative actions in other areas. For example, it has never abandoned the formula for building a common space from Lisbon to Vladivostok and is interested in economic cooperation.
As for Ukraine, here the policies of the Social Democratic Party and the CDU-CSU are agreed upon. The lifting of sanctions is possible only after the implementation of the Minsk agreements. They advocate a truce, the withdrawal of heavy military equipment and armed units from Eastern Ukraine. These are the steps that they expect from our country, these are the steps that they need to move to a plan for lifting sanctions. But now we have elections coming up, so the rhetoric towards us may become tougher. But if there are no surprises, then Germany will try to act in these directions - developing civil society dialogue and improving economic relations, because they have suffered greatly due to sanctions and due to the deterioration of the political component. But we see that events in Great Britain are again setting Europe against us and various surprises are possible that will interfere with the system of development of Russian-German relations.
Eduard Limonov- politician, founder of the banned National Bolshevik Party, executive committee of the “Other Russia” coalition:
- Firstly, everyone is now telling us that Brezhnev ruled for a long time, Putin seems to have been in prison for a long time, but look - it’s already his fourth term ( from Merkel — approx. ed.). She, in my opinion, has been ruling since 2005—for 13 years already.
I think Merkel is outdated as a chancellor. She called 1.5 million strangers into the country, assuming that they would work - young blood. Germany will inevitably grow old, there are few young people... And it invited migrants, assuming that they would work. And this is a completely different generation. They came to colonize Europe, not to work there. Therefore, Merkel did not bring good things to her people. She won't last four years. Take my word for it, she will simply be kicked out of power. She was not elected by the people - she was elected in the Bundestag. 356 deputies is a little more than half.
We cannot expect anything good from any other country. But I think that nothing good will come to the Germans themselves. She is a weak chancellor with complex ideas, belonging to another era, she must go. This, you see, was all very cleverly arranged, they tried in every possible way to avoid calling new elections, because they were afraid that the alternative for Germany - the growing Right Party - would gain even more votes in parliament.
A ruler must be effective. He can rule for 30 years, and if he is bad, he must be expelled after a couple of years. And it's true and honest. We are not trying to change rulers every three or four years; if a good one, let him rule.
Pavel Salin— Director of the Center for Political Science Research at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation:
— Mrs. Merkel is truly unsinkable, since the political crisis in which the country’s party system was located was unprecedented for Germany last decades. It is typical for Western countries Recently, populists have played a significant role, and Mrs. Merkel belongs to the old cohort of politicians. If in France the establishment managed to push through its candidate, Mr. Macron, then in Germany Merkel was able to solve the problem by adhering to the traditional approach to political style.
In the end she found mutual language with all the political forces in which it was interested, and with all the players, including external ones, who stand behind these forces. Of course, it has proven itself to be a leader in the hardware game.
For Russia, this appointment, it seems to me, will be of a moderately positive nature. As for possible replacements - the same Mr. Schultz, who was considered as a likely future chancellor, he is at least no more negotiable for Russia. As for Mrs. Merkel, until the party crisis was overcome and it was necessary to negotiate with all forces, she felt much less freedom than now. Hence the not very clear position on Nord Stream 2. Now Mrs. Merkel feels much more freely and will be able to to a greater extent focus on the interests of German business (and they largely coincide with Russian ones), and not on the interests American groups influence in the German establishment. On the other hand, in order to maintain the coalition and her post, she will have to look back to the interests of Anglo-Saxon pressure groups to a much greater extent than in her previous terms.
The level of uncertainty and turbulence in the world is increasing. The classical democratic system functioned effectively when the world situation was more predictable. Then the elites of democratic countries could afford regular rotation of the first person. Now the risks are growing; in these conditions, the elites are choosing the path of consolidating power. In China, this is happening to counter growing internal challenges that may be played out by external forces. The same thing is happening to a certain extent in Germany.
« AS TO MERKEL’S PROSPECTS, I HOPE THIS WILL BE HER LAST TERM.”
Alexander Kamkin— Leading Researcher at the Center for German Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences:
— As for Germany’s foreign policy, we can confidently say that for the next four years it will remain virtually unchanged compared to the previous four years. All the problems that our countries faced were the sanctions policy and the sluggish discussion within the Normandy format regarding the events in eastern Ukraine, the difficulties with European architecture security in the context of the militarization of Eastern European borders, and the construction of a unified European army... all this, let’s say, Merkel 4.0 inherited from herself. We can hardly expect big breakthroughs here, because the coalition agreement also spells out a rather tough position towards Russia - that our country is allegedly interfering in internal European affairs, and is somehow trying to introduce a certain dissonance into the unity of the European Union. Now, as we see, the possessed Englishwoman has made a fuss in London over the alleged interference of the Russian special services. This fact can also be used as an information source for additional sanctions pressure. Therefore, unfortunately, it is too early to say that there is hope for a warming in relations between our countries, but at least it won’t get worse.
As for Merkel’s secret, it consists of two components - the obvious weakness of her political competitors and the absence of charismatic personalities among them... After Gerhard Schröder left big politics In the camp of the Social Democrats there were no such bright, charismatic personalities. The only one interesting person Only Frank-Walter Steinmeier remained in the SPD...
The Green Party is a left-wing party, it, like the Free Democrats, has a certain limit on electoral growth, and it is too early to say that the Alternative for Germany can seriously challenge Angela Merkel. She is still in the process of developing her worldview doctrine. And the question of whether it can move from the rank of a party of protest votes to a party with its own memorable political agenda is still open. But, of course, the emergence of the “Alternative” greatly confused the cards for the German political establishment; the polarization of electoral preferences led to a sharp outflow of votes from both the Social Democrats and Merkel’s Christian Democrats.
As for Merkel's prospects, I hope that this will be her last term, because political stability is good, but the pledge successful work democratic system is the turnover of elites. Therefore, let’s see how the German voter will remember the era of Merkel, who risks becoming the most “long-serving” chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany...
Now the German government will have to solve the problems with which it came to the September elections last year: these are security issues and environmental issues, because Merkel has plans to develop “green” energy, gradually abandoning coal. Several years ago, it announced plans to close all nuclear plants in Germany, while planning to significantly increase the number of wind and solar power plants. We'll see what this leads to in terms of capital intensity and profitability, because alternative sources energy is subsidized, and the cost of electricity for consumers in Germany is already one of the highest in Europe. And this, accordingly, also negatively affects the electoral preferences of the ordinary population.
Anatoly Wasserman- Ukrainian and Russian journalist, publicist, TV presenter, political consultant:
— Angela Dorothea Horst Kasner is a very skilled person in the matter of political survival. In particular, she adopted the surname of her first husband and left it not only after the divorce, but also in her second marriage, only because it is consonant with the word “light.” This shows how much she cared about everything that affects her reputation.
But the key secret of its unsinkability, in my opinion, is what became clear several years ago. It became known that the US press services had been tapping her mobile phone for many years, including when she was already head of government. This is a blatant violation of allied norms and customs, this is an equally wild violation of all generally accepted international norms and rules. When this became known, Mrs. Kasner herself tried to be very indignant. But just because she tried, a few days later she said that nothing special had happened. And if until that moment she tried to criticize certain American decisions, including pointing out that the introduction of sanctions against the Russian Federation infringes on the interests of not only Russia, but also European people, then after this incident with the phone she began to defend any American whims with foam at the mouth.
She has come to terms with the fact that Americans can say anything to her, which means that we're talking about about a very serious hook of compromising evidence. That is why the Americans will do everything in their power to last longer at the head of the German government.
There is one more circumstance - this is the crisis of the German Social Democrats. For several decades, social democrats have championed measures in support of social democracy or agreed when others took such measures.
Although they traditionally remain the second largest number of voters in the German party, their influence has fallen catastrophically. It turned out that the remaining parties that entered parliament did not want to enter into a coalition with the Social Democrats, believing that this would undermine the reputation of these parties themselves. That is why the Social Democrats were forced to form a coalition, contrary to their views, with the Christian Democrats. So, in addition to the personal compromising evidence of Madam Chancellor, we are also working with the ideological crisis of ideological opponents who are forced to join her so as not to join anyone else.
For Russia, now that Kasner is back in charge of the government, all that matters is what happens in the United States. They are the ones who now control the head of the German government, and through Germany, the entire European Union. Therefore, we can pay much less attention to the European Union and focus on changes in the United States.
Considerable changes have already taken place there; in order to solve momentary problems, many fundamental foundations of the state and economy have been destroyed in recent years. We still have some changes ahead of us. What exactly, no one can say.
Naturally, when the world as a whole is extremely unstable, we have to look for at least some not too shaky supports. This does not always work well, but, as a rule, such stability according to the principle “don’t change horses in the middle of a crossing” is justified. And there are much fewer cases when it would cause damage than cases when damage is caused by a hasty change of leadership according to the principle “even if it’s worse, if only it’s different.” There is a consonant expression in Ukrainian.
Germany itself is a very clear illustration of what a change of power according to this principle leads to. When Chancellor Kohl ruled successfully for many years, under which the reunification of Germany took place, his Christian Democratic Party failed in the next elections simply because so many complained that Kohl had been leading for too long, they should try someone else. We tried it, but the Germans themselves were not happy with it. Now Kasner, who replaced Kohl, has been ruling for so long also because all the Germans who once voted against Kohl on the principle “we are waiting for change” are afraid that the new chancellor might turn out even worse.
Dmitry Oreshkin- independent political scientist:
— Merkel was elected with difficulty, but under her, Germany’s international status is rising. She does not set any ambitious goals typical of male politics, but rationally takes the same steps in the right direction. The European Union is under the unconditional leadership of Germany. True, not all Germans like it, they’re even a little tired of it. As a political manager, Merkel is successful. Those who are trying to counteract it are not bringing anything radically new. That same German stability, thoroughness and integrity have become quite well established in Merkel.
The source of its longevity was the established tradition of German politics in the formation of such united governments. In Germany, the parties that get the most votes negotiate and somehow form a government. This is a culture of political compromise. Merkel interacted with one or another politician, always finding a compromise. This is its great advantage. So far, no significant alternatives have simply emerged. Martin Schulz is a bright man, but without higher education, a little strange. And the “Alternative for Germany” is too extremist and bright an option for the German burghers. So Merkel is the most optimal candidate for Germany, and they understand this very well.
Russia is now a rogue country. Here, no matter how you change the situation, our country will not be better off in the European market. Germany is trying to get rid of Russian gas because it perceives it not as a commodity, but as an instrument of geopolitical pressure. So any government in Germany, just like in Britain and France, was extremely wary of Vladimir Putin and Russia in his execution. There's nothing even to discuss here. What difference did it make for the Soviet Union, Willie Brown rules Germany or someone else?! Of course, there may be some shades, but still it was a geopolitical conflict with constant claims against each other. The fundamental differences are too deep to seek consolation in the fact that this or that chancellor has come.
I believe that it is incorrect to compare, as we often do, Western states with Russia and who, where, and for how long is in power. It was correct when our country was a member of the G8. And now Putin has formed the concept of a special historical path. Presidents in Germany changed quite often; no one served four terms. And Merkel’s powers are much less than Putin’s, since she is a member of a coalition government. One way or another, she must take into account the interests of her partners and not violate them. And this is a slightly different genre. Merkel is a politician of compromise, and not because she is like that, she simply acts in a certain political system. There is no predetermination in elections in Germany, unlike in Russia.
Recently, the American magazine Forbes named German Chancellor Angela Merkel the most powerful woman in the world for the second year in a row. Do you want to see how and where the head of the German government lives? The address is well-known and can be easily found on the Internet: 10117 Berlin, Am Kupfergraben, 6. The building is an apartment building, Angela Merkel's apartment is located on the fourth floor. To see the house, you don’t even have to go to Berlin - its images are available on the Internet.
Merkel's predecessor as Chancellor of Germany, Gerhard Schröder, lived in a service apartment with a total area of 200 square meters right in the building of the Federal Chancellor's Office. Angela Merkel and her husband Professor Joachim Sauer chose to stay in their apartment.
Angela Merkel is far from rich
In May 2012, Angela Merkel received a salary increase. This was the first salary increase for the German Chancellor in the last 12 years. As head of the German government, Merkel earns about 190 thousand euros a year. In addition, she is entitled to special additional payments for business expenses. And since she is also a member of the Bundestag, she earns a total of almost 290 thousand euros per year. True, she is forced to pay taxes on this very, very decent salary. But, like all officials, she does not pay pension insurance and unemployment insurance.
Context
Top managers, successful doctors, not to mention football players and racing drivers, earn incomparably more. Even the President of Germany, although according to the German Constitution he is a purely representative figure, receives a salary that is 11 percent more than that of the Chancellor. The president has a luxurious residence in Berlin's Bellevue Castle at his disposal. In short, Angela Merkel is far from rich by German standards.
Apartment opposite Pergamon
Madam Chancellor lives in her apartment. The area is good - the very center of Berlin, opposite the famous Pergamon Museum. There was an embarrassment with the museum: a surveillance camera was installed on its roof. It turns out that she completely looked through Angela Merkel's apartment. And on April 25, 2009, Angela Merkel was not allowed home - an unexploded Soviet aerial bomb from World War II was discovered near her house.
She likes to spend time in the mountains, for example in Tyrol, and pays for it herself. From time to time she visits her dacha near Berlin. When the German Chancellor is in Bonn on business, a small apartment awaits her in the former government quarter. Angela Merkel pays for her clothes out of her own pocket. True, she has an advantage: the dressmaker does the fitting at her home.
Angela Merkel goes toAudiA8 and flies atAirbusA340
The Chancellor has a car with a driver at his disposal 24 hours a day. Many ministers and prime ministers of the federal states prefer armored Mercedes or BMW limousines. Angela Merkel chose the Audi A8.
Angela Merkel is the Chancellor of Germany and an outstanding European politician. Today Angela Dorothea Merkel is one of the most influential women-politicians in the world, her significance is undeniable: holding the high post of Chancellor of Germany, Merkel has achieved enormous progress in Germany’s domestic and foreign policy.
In recent years, Angela Merkel has repeatedly topped the ranking of the most influential women in the world according to the American financial and economic magazine Forbes, and her photo can always be seen on the covers of the main publications on the planet. Journalists often call Frau Merkel the “new iron lady” of Europe.
The biography of Angela Merkel originates in Hamburg, where the future politician was born on July 17, 1954 in the family of a teacher. foreign languages(English and Latin) and pastor of the Lutheran Church of Berlin-Brandeburg. Previously, the childhood of the future chancellor was associated with a series of moves: first, the Merkel family moved to the German Democratic Republic (GDR), and then to the city of Templin (federal state of Brandenburg). Soon she had a sister, Irena, and a brother, Marcus.
Angela Merkel went to school in Templin in 1961, choosing the Polytechnic educational institution already in childhood. Parents supported this decision. She studied very well, and now many of her classmates recall the girl’s excellent mental abilities, but the schoolgirl remained inconspicuous: Angela was a very modest child, focused on gaining knowledge.
Merkel herself said that at school she was best in Russian and mathematics; she passed the final exams in these sciences with flying colors in 1973.
Still sitting at school desk, Merkel decided to continue her education at the Karl Marx University Leipzig, where she entered the physics department in 1973. Even then, Merkel was forming Political Views, she was not among the opposition-minded youth. Still, in her youth, the girl already plans to actively engage in political and government activities.
Policy
Of course, today Merkel is a respected politician, she is the first woman who managed to occupy the post of Federal Chancellor. Some sources note that at that moment she was also the youngest German chancellor. But Angela Merkel's career began long before she headed the political pedestal of Germany and the EU; her path to the top was very long.
In 1989, Angela Merkel got a job in the political party “Democratic Breakthrough” - this event in Merkel’s life is associated with a series of changes; the Academy of Sciences of the GDR was then dissolved due to the “surge of democracy” that was observed in the GDR after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In 1990, Merkel went to work for Wolfgang Schnur's party, where she received a position as a referent - here her career growth began, at first she was assigned to develop party leaflets, but after some time Merkel served as the party's press secretary. As some sources wrote, friends at that time were very surprised by Merkel’s work in the CDU, because her political views were more likely to belong to representatives of the “greens”.
On March 18, 1990, the party where Merkel worked failed in the first elections to the People's Chamber, with only 0.9% of voters voting for them. The elections to the People's Chamber were unexpectedly won by the Alliance for Germany party, which received 41% of the votes. Merkel received the post of deputy press secretary.
On October 3, 1990, Germany was reunified, and Angela Merkel stopped working as deputy press secretary and moved to the position of ministerial adviser at the German Information and Press Office.
After this, on December 2, 1990, Merkel became a member of the Bundestag. Merkel's candidacy was supported by 48.5% of voters in a separate district, and she received a mandate. A little later, Angela Merkel became the head of a small department for women and youth affairs. Already at the end of 1991, she became deputy chairman of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU). Two years later, Angela Merkel headed the Christian Democratic Union - this happened on April 10, 2000. In the future, it will be supported by the Christian Social Union party in Bavaria (CSU).
On May 30, 2005, the CSU and CDU elected the politician as a candidate for the post of Federal Chancellor; even then Merkel had undeniable authority and colossal political experience. On September 18, 2005, in the framework of early elections to the Bundestag, her CSU/CDU bloc won the elections with 35.2% of the votes. Then the Greens lost their majority in parliament.
Relations with Russia
Angela Merkel's political views are aimed at maintaining European unity. It is widely known for its pro-American views on foreign policy, and Germany remains a key US partner in Europe to this day. Frau Merkel is quite categorical regarding Russia; she has repeatedly criticized her predecessor in the post of Germany, Gerhard Schröder, for an “excessively pro-Russian position.”
Despite the fact that Angela Merkel’s “compass needle” points towards the United States, relations between Russia and Germany have not changed significantly since Merkel came to the post of chancellor. Like many other EU countries, Germany has introduced a background.
"Normandy Four" Merkel also demonstrates a course towards resolving military conflicts; many may note that she is a politician of peace, not war. In particular, Merkel showed herself to be very professional in resolving the Ukrainian crisis - on her initiative, on February 11-12, 2015, the “Normandy talks” were held in Minsk with the participation of the President of France, the President of Ukraine and the head of the Russian Federation. As part of these negotiations, progress was made on the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Personal life
While studying, Angela Merkel met Ulrich Merkel, who became her husband. She still bears his last name. In 1977, Angela married Ulrich, but this marriage was not durable: already in 1982, Merkel divorced her husband; there were no children in their fragile family.
Before the divorce, Angela and Ulrich managed to move to Berlin because they were denied work at their place of residence in the city of Ilmenau. Ulrich got a job at central institute physical chemistry.
Two years after the divorce, Angela Merkel met her second husband Joachim Sauer, but this time the woman decided not to rush into the wedding; the couple officially legalized their marriage only in 1998. In addition, at the time of their acquaintance, Sauer was married to another woman. The couple has no children.
Angela Merkel's marital status has changed several times, but she now admits that her first marriage was a mistake.
“It sounds funny now, but then I made a mistake. Then everyone got married, I was deceived,” Merkel admitted to reporters.
Crisis in Europe
Erupted in Europe in 2015, it became one of the most difficult challenges for Angela Merkel during her entire tenure as chancellor. Millions of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa rushed to the Old World in the hope of salvation. The bulk of the migration flow was made up of residents of Syria and Iraq, on whose territory active hostilities were taking place at that time.
This situation has become a real test for many European states that do not have experience in countering such global problems.
Country authorities of Eastern Europe began to implement certain “barrier measures” in order to contain the influx of migrants, but the massive flow of refugees still could not be stopped. Thus, at the pan-European level, the leadership of continental organizations decided to create a system of refugee quotas for each country.
In the fall of 2015, Angela Merkel took the initiative to welcome migrants into the European Union (EU), but the German Chancellor soon became disillusioned with her decisions, saying that it would not be possible to resolve the mass migration crisis in the near future. Nevertheless, the unspoken leader of continental entities never gave up the idea that the actions of countries regarding this issue will be able to determine the future of Europe.
In September 2015, during a speech in the Bundestag, the German Chancellor noted that to resolve such a catastrophic situation, decisive measures by the authorities of all European countries are necessary, and the redistribution of migrants and refugees among EU countries is simply not enough. However, government actions did not contribute to an effective solution to the large-scale problem; migrants continued to arrive in large numbers in the European Union. As a result, in 2015 alone there were already about half a million migrants and refugees in Europe.
The crisis has led the European Commission to officially warn that if governments fail to tackle negative trends, the result could be a rise in right-wing extremism on the continent. European leaders, during emergency negotiations on the migrant problem, have decided to allocate a billion euros to help millions of Syrian refugees who have ended up in neighboring countries in the Middle East. The leaders of the European Union gradually managed to agree on strengthening the external borders of the community.
In February 2016, the situation in the European Union resembled a critical one. At the EU summit in Brussels, state authorities with representatives of Turkey drew up a plan for accepting refugees by this country. A similar idea provided for the allocation of 3 billion euros per year to Ankara in exchange for the placement of citizens of Syria and Iraq on Turkish territory. This had its effect, and the flow of migrants soon decreased significantly.
Elections 2017: forecasts
Due to the migration crisis, Merkel's position has been weakened, and it has also become fragile within the government coalition. In Germany itself, discord began between politicians, the chairman of the Federal Government. The German media soon began to inform the public that Merkel was ready to meet her opponents halfway and not affect the most hot topic distribution of quotas among EU members.
The German international public broadcaster Deutsche Welle spoke about the political prospects of Angela Merkel in the elections of February 17, 2016:
“Senior representatives of the Bavarian CSU strongly discourage their CDU colleagues from positioning themselves as staunch supporters of Merkel’s policies, which they consider “spent steam.” According to them, in the elections “now even flower pot You won’t win.” There is unrest in the united parliamentary faction of conservatives. The Chancellor is losing ground."
Still, certain failures during her tenure as chancellor will not prevent Merkel from leading the German government again. In fact, the CDU/CSU (union political parties) there is no full-fledged alternative to such an influential and experienced politician.
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) is the main competitor of the CDU/CSU in parliamentary elections. The party consists of enough famous representatives German politicians who are capable of winning elections.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel were until recently the main candidates for the post of Federal Chancellor from the SPD, but any coalition would certainly prefer to nominate Merkel for the main post of the country, rather than two officials who have not shown results effective activities. In addition, in an interview, Angela Merkel called Steinmeier “a person who is ideal for the position of President of Germany.”
Martin Schulz, who served as President of the European Parliament, is chief representative from the SPD. It is Schultz who is capable of becoming Angela Merkel’s main competitor in the fight for the position of German Chancellor.
His experience in running an organization on a continental scale will clearly strengthen the SPD's position in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Schulz's campaign rhetoric won't be too different from Merkel's, but not being closely tied to the failure on immigration will help him score well in the election.
The conservative and Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany party is another political force that could gain a significant number of votes. The results of the 2014 elections indicate that the program of this party is accepted by a significant part of the electorate in the southeast of the country. Still, they cannot be called serious “Eurosceptics”; this political force rather advocates reformatting Europe with a certain erosion of common borders. A party can enter parliament by breaking the 5 percent threshold.
Angela Merkel has a very high chance of regaining the position of Federal Chancellor. The politician is confident in her abilities and is quite capable of defeating her competitors, but she is clearly in a tough fight. The elections held in March 2016 in three federal states (Baden-Württemberg, Saxony-Anhalt and Rhineland-Palatinate) demonstrated the shaky position of the German leader, as the CDU party, led by Merkel, lost votes in the state parliament elections in all districts.
Surely Angela Merkel will again become Federal Chancellor of Germany, which will ultimately be a positive signal for a united Europe to strengthen the continental commonwealth.
