"Freedom" - this is the name of the memoirs of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in which she talks about the Pope, about Trump, about former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, as well as about her policy towards Russia. The weekly "Die Zeit" published excerpts from the book, in which Merkel describes, for example, how during her mandate she tried to prevent Ukraine's rapid accession to NATO, as she feared a military response from Russia.
Kiev still blames Merkel for her policy towards Russia and Ukraine. In connection with the decisive NATO summit in 2008 in Bucharest, at which a plan was discussed to grant the status of candidates for membership in the Alliance to Ukraine and Georgia, Merkel wrote: "I understood the desire of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe to become NATO members as quickly as possible. But the acceptance of a new member should increase not only its security, but also the security of the Alliance.
The Final Compromise
For Merkel, the risks in this regard are mostly in Crimea. "None of the previous candidates for NATO membership had such a commitment to the Russian military structures. In addition, at that time only a small part of the Ukrainian population supported the country's membership in the Alliance," the former chancellor wrote in her memoirs.
In the end, a compromise was made, but at an appropriate price. "The fact that Georgia and Ukraine did not receive approval for NATO candidate status meant for them "no" for their hopes. And the fact that NATO gave them its consent in principle for the prospect of membership was perceived by Putin as a "yes"; for the accession of the two countries, a kind of declaration of war."
Meetings with Trump and the Pope
In her memoirs, Merkel also recalls her first meeting with US President Donald Trump. In 2017, in the Oval Office, he asked her about her attitude towards Putin, while making it clear that Putin impressed him a lot.
At the press conference that followed, the complicated relationship between Merkel and Trump was evident. Trump accuses Germany, and Merkel responds with facts and figures. The finding of the former chancellor is that Trump has looked at everything from the perspective of a developer who just wants to get land.
During her private audience with Pope Francis a few months later, Merkel expressed her concern that under Trump the US could withdraw from the Paris climate accord. "Without naming names, I asked him how he would deal with fundamentally divergent opinions in a group of important figures. He understood me immediately and answered me directly: "Bend, bend, bend, but make sure it doesn't break."
Schröder's defeat
The scene with Merkel coming to power in 2005 is also significant. The evening after the parliamentary elections, Social Democrat Chancellor Gerhard Schröder refused to concede defeat during the televised debate. "I was sitting there by myself, as if I was not part of the whole at all, but as if I were watching television at home. And I constantly told myself: don't get into a fight with others, because in that situation your language will also become coarse."
It was perfectly clear to Merkel that she was going through something extraordinary. "I very much doubt that Gerhard Schröder would have behaved in the same way with a man,", wrote the woman who ruled from then on for 16 years.