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In the future, perhaps during one of her Baltic walks, Angela Merkel might reflect on this by naming her memoirs Freedomwhile Ukraine is fighting for exactly that against Russia, which it did so much to enable, it did not exude good taste. But let’s be fair. 700 pages after the title is up. In a book of relentless self-pity, people always underestimate the author. It should be concluded that she proved them wrong. You come and ask if they had half a point.
Merkel, a one-person case for constitutional term limits, has the right to look out for herself. “I was the most harmful European leader since 1945” will never be the core of her book. To her credit, she doesn’t even use her best excuse: that a generic German chancellor of the era would have done the same things – on energy, defence, if not asylum – such was the national consensus at the time.
The people I want to hear from more are her fans. Why did Western liberals fall for Merkel? Because she was a woman? No, they didn’t like Margaret Thatcher, and they don’t trust Giorgia Melona. Because she was a leftist? No, her party is centre-right, although the exchange rate between German politics and the Anglosphere is not so good. Because then she let a million refugees go? She was called the “Queen of Europe” long before that.
In the end, there was very little adoration for Merkel. Just a vague feeling that she was a nice person and – crucially – that the Conservatives didn’t like her. Puddle-deep and tribal: the Merkel cult was modern liberalism at its worst.
She herself did not learn any lessons from that era. But her former fans still could, with a little guidance. So here it is.
First lesson. Scientists are not “better”. The line on Merkel was that while Britain was run by nimble humanities graduates, here was a physicist-chemist who brought empirical rigor to government. Well, it wasn’t carefree Oxonians who displayed an almost theological aversion to nuclear power. Even if Merkel had a thirst for detail, it also had a consequence: no bigger picture, no sense of connectedness. Whether a nation is run badly (Britain in recent years) or well (Britain in the past), generalists will tend to be in charge. The academic propensity of the elite at age 18 cannot be a variable that explains much. Stop worrying about the PPE degree.
Second lesson. Just because a person doesn’t have external charisma doesn’t mean they have internal depths. (Call this the Gordon Brown fallacy.) In all likelihood, there are even fewer of them than meets the eye. Merkel has been said to embody a “post-heroic” style of leadership. It is said that a great strategic mind simmers behind that quiet exterior and that shy rhombus hand gesture. Yes, no. She was a sphinx without a secret. This is the type of person who repeats himself not only in history but also in workplaces everywhere, forever bearing wisdom and high talent.
The last lesson? I’m afraid that has the least chance of being obeyed. Bad people can have good judgment, and vice versa. The problem should be approached on its own terms, not on the basis of who stands where in it. Donald Trump was right that European defense spending was, with honorable exceptions, shameful. He was right that Germany’s energy dependence would help “expansionist foreign powers”. And despite the constant suggestion in Merkel’s book, none of this is an afterthought. It’s just a look.
For a sense of the tribal shallowness that can overwhelm smart people, remember that the Brits who hated “austerity” swore by this fiscal hawk. Not only did the tension not bother them, I’m not sure it even crossed their minds. What was important was that Merkel, in some ineffable way, seemed to be on the right team. From there, the rest could be buried. Her politics? Her judgment record? Such bore.
Nothing has captured Merkel Mania like her meme at the G7 summit, literally lashing out at Trump, who is sitting on his hands. As soon as the photo was published, its message was unmistakable: an exasperated adult and an exhilarated child. No painting has aged worse than The Portrait of Dorian Gray.
Email Janan at [email protected]
Read the FT’s review of Angela Merkel’s ‘Freedom’ here
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