Everybody loves Angela
There’s a video I frequently see posted on Twitter. I imagine it’s a familiar video to most who take an interest in Germany, the algorithms that dominate our online lives know what we want and apparently what we want is a video of Angela Merkel angrily plucking a German flag from the hands of a jubilant party member after their 2013 federal election victory. I have no idea how many times I’ve seen this video, maybe hundreds at this point, but it appears with enough regularity that I can almost sense its approach as I scroll my timeline. Often the video is posted with some glowing review of Merkel, praising her liberalism or her sensible approach to government. These posts are largely written in English and are posted from people who live-in far-flung locations. Tellingly, I’ve never seen one of these posts in German or from an account based in Germany.
The 2013 video is only one of many. A clip of Angela Merkel rolling her eyes at Donald Trump, Angela Merkel issuing one of her patented sardonic one liners to some detractor in the Bundestag or Angela Merkel giving a well-received speech at a graduation ceremony. All follow the same model of the 2013 election video, high praise for the chancellor coming from accounts outside Germany. In these days of bot armies and disinformation, one might think that Merkel has some powerful allies in cyberspace, but actually the chancellor is benefitting from a general belief outside of Germany that she’s a great liberal champion and, dare I say it, a progressive.
The ‘Merkel is a progressive’ meme is powerful, so powerful it will likely shape how the world remembers the German Chancellor when she leaves office in the Autumn. However, there is a niggling issue I have with the Merkel meme, a question that I can’t seem to escape; in order to be a progressive, shouldn’t there be more progress?
Perceptions of Merkel outside Germany seem to be shaped by one event during her tenure as head of the German government: the 2015 migrant crises. The decision to welcome hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees to Germany is still controversial, but of all the decisions in her 15 year in office, it will probably be the most discussed and likely continue to fuel the progressive Merkel narrative. It was also one of the few times Merkel acted swiftly and decisively, casting aside her well-worn strategy that is best summed up as ‘wait and see’. Merkel burned massive amounts of political capital, risked energizing extremist right-wing groups and her parities electoral success in order to do it. To say it was the right decision is almost an insult, it was the only decision. Merkel correctly judged that Europe was in the midst of a massive humanitarian crisis which would only worsen as time went on and understood what closing Germany’s borders would mean to the world. Merkel was able to act and she did.
Yet, does one act of pragmatic humanitarianism give credence to the progressive Merkel meme? Possibly, but I understand fully why so many inside Germany feel that 2015 was a blip of progressivism, rather than a proclivity. The first thing that those who spread the meme seem to forget is that Merkel party is the Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (Christian Democratic Union), a right of centre party. That fact alone gives us an indication of the issue at hand; Merkel isn’t left wing.
Merkel’s reputation has benefited from massive political shifts since 2015, at least among the English-speaking world. When Merkel stood next to Trump or when she’s compared to Boris Johnson, well she looks every bit their antithesis. Sensible, stately, intelligent, even progressive. However, the comparison is obviously flawed, it’s like comparing apples and two streaming piles of manure, topped with improbable hair. Of course Merkel looked like a liberal, but by that logic I’m the best writer in the world when compared to mayonnaise.
Photo by Jungwoo Hong on Unsplash
When Merkel leaves office, she will have two legacies; one international, the other domestic, and it’s perhaps in the latter sphere that Merkel deserves the heaviest criticism. The CDU during her reign has fashioned a superficial progressivism, spearheaded by a strategy of Realpolitik that would make Bismarck smile. Merkel saw off the threat of the SPD by promising to allow a vote on gay marriage in the Bundestag, a vote that passed but which she, as one might expect of a conservative politician, voted against. ‘Why should we care?’ I hear you say ‘The vote passed’ and you’re right, but scratch the surface and you will see the problem. Sure, marriage for same sex couples was made law, but that doesn’t actually mean same sex couples have the same rights as women and men who are married in the same way. Case in point, same sex couples who have a baby will often have to go through a painful process of adoption in order the make sure both partners have the same rights that are automatically granted to married men and women.
The further one digs into Angela Merkel’s time in power, the more examples we find, decisions that seem at first progressive, but when investigated show the superficiality and short-termism that is perhaps Merkel’s real legacy. The decision to phase out nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster was welcomed by environmentalists at the time, but it has led to a heavier reliance on natural gas resources, from Russia in particular. This wouldn’t be a major problem, except that it makes it rather difficult to criticise Russia or take any serious action when your energy supplier suddenly decides to invade neighbours or poison opponents on foreign soil. It also makes it incredibly hard to argue that Merkel is a green chancellor, despite claims made by her supporters. Missed climate targets and the recent decisions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline suggest the badge of ‘Green Chancellor’ is simply gilded tin.
The Covid crises has also laid bare fundamental issues that seem to have been ignored or left unfinished by the Merkel government. The lack of investment in internet infrastructure looks like a massive failure of policy now that so many of us are forced to work virtually, especially when there was money available to invest in improvements. This lack of investment is also perhaps Merkel’s true legacy. Austerity measures introduced by Merkel with great fanfare may have reduced some measure of national debt, but it has also hobbled Germany, with roads, schools and other important infrastructure falling into disrepair. Even where progress has been made, it often doesn’t address the core issues. The introduction of the Frauenquote is one example. By compelling major companies to employ more women in executive roles, more opportunities for women have been created, but by not addressing the shortages of preschool places around the country, they made it harder for working couples who want or need to work. By not pushing the issue with the states or major companies, the duties of childcare still fall disproportionately to women, making it harder for women to return to work and have similar career opportunities to male colleagues.
Ultimately, Angela Merkel’s legacy will be borne out by the next decade. There is much to praise Merkel for, I certainly respect her, even though I wouldn’t vote for her. Yet, I have to wonder how much progress we’ve made since 2005 and whether we might be further forward had Merkel been as progressive as the world seems to think she is.
Photo Credit
Photo by Jungwoo Hong on Unsplash
