As chair of the CDU in 2000, and of its joint Bundestag caucus with the CSU in 2002, Angela Merkel was the fist woman and fist easterner to head a major German party; she had risen as a protege of Helmut Kohl, but breaking with him over his financial improprieties vaulted her into power. These features of her biography made her leadership unconventional. So too did her style, characterized by interpersonal reserve and lack of charisma. Merkel's views on cultural issues and economic policy-in particular, reform of the welfare state-were more liberal than those of her Union's mainstream. Finally, her resources within the CDU/CSU were limited to a loose network of younger outsiders, who helped sustain her against rivals at the Land level. While Merkel survived a poor CDU/CSU election in 2005 to become chancellor, her time as opposition leader suggested that she would struggle in that role too, yet also served as a caution against underrating her.
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In German Politics and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Sep 2006
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 41–81
Myra Marx Ferree
Considering Angela Merkel as a female candidate raises questions of the extent to which political leadership has become degendered in recent decades. Three issues of gender and politics are considered here: the changes in expectations for women in public life, the shift in defining what is a "woman's interest" and how women may represent such interests, and the degree to which women challenge the "old boys' networks" with alternative connections to women and provide a critical mass rather than just an individual in office. The implications of each of these dimensions for assessing the impact of Merkel on German politics are considered. I suggest that her role can be seen as a feminist one, even if her own politics are not.
In German Politics and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Mar 2006
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 93–107
Clay Clemens
mandate but clinging on too long, and a complacent campaign relying on proven formulas despite resistance in the ranks amid ominous warning signs. These challenges and misjudgments did not deny Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social
In German Politics and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Jun 2018
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 55–75
Germany and the United States
Whither “Partners in Leadership”?
Matthew Rhodes
Before a farewell trip to Berlin in November 2016, (a sixth to Germany while in office) u.s . President Barack Obama hailed Chancellor Angela Merkel as his “closest international partner.” 1 Indeed, the confluence of calibrated u.s . retrenchment
In German Politics and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Sep 2018
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 23–40
Introduction
Merkeldämmerung
Eric Langenbacher
politicians squabble, but Chancellor Angela Merkel will persist There is, however, much brewing underneath the surface. Expectations are rapidly mounting for the new grand coalition government—and not just for programs and policies domestically. Responses to
A Spectre Haunting Europe
Angela Merkel and the Challenges of Far-Right Populism
Joyce Marie Mushaben
Introduction: Mutter der Nation versus the Alternative for Germany Since 2005, Angela Merkel has secured her place in German history, given her unique status as the first woman, the first easterner, the first physicist, and even the first
Sticking to Her Guns or Going with the Flow
Assessing Rigidity and Flexibility in Angela Merkel’s Political Decision Making
Christian Schnee
This paper investigates levels of rigidity and flexibility in Angela Merkel’s decision making during her first three governments from 2005 to 2017. The study is a contribution to understanding German politics in the era of Merkel who has regularly been criticized for allegedly lacking a transformative agenda and ideological consistency. Methodologically this study draws on Jonathan Keller’s framework that differentiates between internally and externally validated leaders, with the latter seeking to appease and curry favor with stakeholders and the former committed to their personal believes. The study assesses Merkel’s decisions on fiscal and economic policies, zooms in on her u-turn on nuclear energy, touches upon her dithering during the Euro crisis and discusses at some length her protracted coming to terms with the refugee crisis. Findings suggest her flexibility to be predominantly a reflection of political expediencies and intended to preserve her party’s political compatibility with potentially supportive stakeholders. Her approach thus is in line with the agenda to manage coalition governments successfully, moderate and conciliate divergent interests and thus secure their position in power.
In German Politics and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Mar 2019
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 24–46
Coalition Politics in Crisis?
The German Party System Before and After the 2017 Federal Election
Frank Decker and Philipp Adorf
. Why did the election eventually unfold the way it did? Without assigning an order of significance, the following factors determined the outcome of the vote: Crisis: Angela Merkel’s frequently repeated sentence that we were living through “tumultuous
Kan-di(e)-dat?
Unpacking Gender Images across Angela Merkel’s Four Campaigns for the Chancellorship, 2005–2017
Joyce Marie Mushaben
Democratic mother of six with the headline: “Sie sind ein würdeloses Weib” (you are a dishonorable dame). 4 Angela Merkel experienced her first culture shock after the Wall fell when she was indirectly advised by interim gdr premier Lothar de Maizière to
In German Politics and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Mar 2018
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 31–51
The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
Angela Merkel, the Grand Coalition, and “Majority Rule” in Germany
Joyce Marie Mushaben
In September 2013, Angela Merkel won a third term as federal chancellor, securing 42 percent of the vote for her Christian Democratic Party ( cdu ). The only open question throughout the campaign was not whether Germany’s first female leader would