Merkel’s book premiere – “First – that was me”: Between satisfaction and justification – News

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An analysis by Simone Fatzer

27.11.2024, 06:00

“When things didn’t go well, there were always these doubts: Where did she come from, did she really understand what freedom was, did she know our values?” Merkel told the Deutsches Theater about the persistent prejudices against her GDR biography. With an authentic appearance and instinct for power, she achieved an unprecedented career in the most powerful office in the Federal Republic. With the memoirs, Merkel wants to gain sovereignty over the interpretation of her 16-year government.

After her term in office, her failures in migration policy, for example, became increasingly clear. Her relationship with Russian President Putin has also met with a lot of criticism. It held on to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline even after its annexation of Crimea in 2014. “With regard to cheap energy, the economy, but also politically, I tried not to completely cut off this relationship. Personally, looking back, I don’t think that was a mistake,” said Merkel.

The Swabian housewife relaxes

Merkel also refers to the present in the book. The government under Chancellor Scholz collapsed because of the debt brake, which sets limits on the state’s spending. The government’s breach became a personal drama. Merkel thought: Typically men, as she revealed to the magazine “Spiegel”. But she herself once kept the debt brake high. She links the black zero, i.e. the balanced national budget, with the image of the “Swabian housewife” – a symbol of the virtue of saving.

The fact that Merkel stuck to it is due to her background, writes author Eckart Lohse in his book about Merkel. Many in the CDU doubted their economic expertise. Merkel wanted to prove that she would not lead to “financial instability”. But now Merkel is calling for a reform of the debt brake, also “to avoid distribution struggles in society”. Because with all the crises, it is an “unusually serious situation that I have never had during my time in office”. The debt brake makes important investments impossible in a country full of construction sites. The CDU will also benefit from easing restrictions as soon as they are in power.

History of a whole generation

Merkel’s autobiography was eagerly awaited. Especially because Merkel has hardly spoken in public in the last three years. Her look at the history that shaped her for 16 years may disappoint those who were hoping for a grand mea culpa or an intimate glimpse behind the scenes of power. Merkel is no more self-critical than her predecessors.

What has emerged is a meticulously compiled chronicle, an extraordinary politician’s subjective view of her history. And what did a woman say when she picked up a copy at the bookstore? “That’s my story too, it’s all of our stories.”