Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel describes her dealings with leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump during her 16-year rule in her new book memoir.
The memoir hits the book market at a time when Merkel's legacy is under fire in light of contemporary crises.
Excerpts of the text released ahead of the book's official launch, expected on November 26, show how Merkel argued her decision to oppose Ukraine's bid for future NATO membership at the alliance's Bucharest summit in 2008. According to the critics of the former German chancellor, Russia might not have invaded Ukraine if it had joined NATO.
Even the statement made at the summit that Ukraine and Georgia would join NATO in the future was considered a "battle cry" by Putin, writes Merkel, who headed the government of Germany for four terms.
"Later he said to me: "You will not be chancellor forever. And then they will become a member of NATO. And I want to prevent this," Merkel wrote in excerpts published last night by the German c. "Cite".
Merkel's book is titled: "Freedom: A Memoir 1954-2021" and on November 26, it will officially appear in bookstores in more than 30 countries. A week later, she will present her book in Washington. Former President Barack Obama, with whom Merkel has close political relations, will also attend the event.
Obama's successor – Donald Trump, is one of the men that Merkel – the first woman to head the German government takes aim in her book.
She says she sought advice from the pope on how to deal with Trump after he was elected to his first term as president. Merkel wrote that she hoped to find a way to convince Trump, who she says has the mentality of a construction contractor and sees things through the lens of a winner or a loser, not to abandon the Paris climate accords.
"He saw everything from the point of view of a construction entrepreneur, as he was before he entered politics," the former chancellor wrote. "Each plot of land could only be sold once, and if he didn't take it, someone else became the owner. Such was his worldview."
When Merkel asked Pope Francis for advice on how she could generally interact with people "having fundamentally different views", the Holy Father immediately understood that she was referring to Trump and his desire to abandon the agreements on the climate. "Bend, bend, bend, but make sure it doesn't break," he told Merkel, according to her account.
During Trump's tenure, some called Merkel the "leader of the free world" because she often mentioned values such as freedom and human rights. Traditionally, this nickname is reserved for US presidents.
"She was an honorable person without vanity," said Torsten Opeland, a professor of political science at the University of Jena.
The book was written before Trump's re-election and expresses the "heartfelt hope" that Vice President Kamala Harris will defeat Merkel's rival.
HERITAGE IN SIGHT
During her four consecutive terms as chancellor, Merkel steered Germany and Europe through the global financial crisis, the eurozone debt crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.
But she has faced sharp criticism for allowing Germany to become even more dependent on cheap Russian gas and Chinese trade, even after Russia's forcible annexation of Crimea and despite industry warnings against over-reliance much to China.
Merkel's critics also blame her for the rise of far-right political power and high energy prices because of some of her decisions related to opening Germany's borders to refugees and phasing out nuclear power.
She lacked vision, failing to undertake the reforms needed to ensure the future strength of Europe's largest economy, which is now grappling with a crisis that has affected its very business model, Merkel's opponents say.
"When Merkel was in power, many people saw her as an extremely effective politician and a reliable partner," said Marcel Diersus, who works at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University.
"Since she left power, many Germans have viewed her legacy significantly more critically. "Either because her policies now appear to them to have failed, or because her inaction is perceived as a factor that contributed to a number of Germany's existing problems," Dirsus added.
Yet many of Merkel's positions – such as that on Russia, were the result of consensus across the political spectrum. Current Chancellor Olaf Scholz was Merkel's finance minister during her last four-year term.
In recent years, however, her own Conservative Party has distanced itself from its former leader, who has expressed little remorse for her actions and has largely stayed out of the limelight since retiring from politics.
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Translation from English: Nikolay Velev, BTA