THE DISCREET AMBITION OF ANGELA MERKEL

Marion Van Renterghem

(Les Arènes, 270 pages, 2017)

“I am not vain. I know how to use the vanity of men.” — Angela Merkel

 “It happens sometimes, but rarely, that a person is not only a product of her time but comes to define it . . . Historians will refer to the period in which we now live . . . as ‘The Merkel years.’” — Alastair Campbell

 In September 2017, Angela Merkel was elected Chancellor of Germany for the fourth consecutive term. “Mutti,” the affectionate nickname Ms. Merkel earned in Germany, has revealed herself to be a formidable politician with a rare talent for negotiation. For more than a decade, she has dominated European politics and has steadily, and without great fanfare, secured her place in history as one of the most powerful leaders in the world. Marion Van Renterghem, a senior reporter at Le Monde, does not hide her fascination for Merkel. In this insightful and lively biography, she sheds light on the personality and exceptional political journey of a remarkable woman.

Marion Van Renterghem traces the chancellor’s steps back to the small town where Merkel spent her youth, in what was then the German Democratic Republic, and where she still enjoys quiet weekends with her husband in their modest dacha. Van Renterghem interviewed childhood friends and former teachers, and the many who witnessed or accompanied her rise to power.

The story of the Merkel family is unusual. Her father, a pastor from Hamburg, was offered to train seminarians in the GDR a few years before the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. Unlike the millions who moved westward, he decided to stay. Merkel, well on her way to becoming a scientist, was drawn into the effervescence of a period of momentous historical change. She turned out to be the right person at the right time, a person from the East without embarrassing ties to the Stasi. Her steady temperament, quiet strength, and razor-sharp mind—and her unthreatening lack of charisma—were quickly noticed and led her to be chosen as the spokesperson of the first and last elected dirigeant of the GDR, Lothar de Maizière. Starting with her years as a minister under the Kohl government, and then as chancellor since 2005, she became one of the prime architects of the new unified Germany.

Van Renterghem follows the rise of Merkel, concentrating on her relationships, especially with world leaders, from Tony Blair to Vladimir Putin, and four successive French presidents. The anecdotes, always instructive and often amusing, underscore the personal dynamics that shaped and continue to shape the future of Europe. Merkel was perceived as a sanctimonious public accountant during the Greek debt crisis and as a courageous humanist during the Syrian refugee crisis. Van Rentenghem’s generous portrait argues convincingly that no matter how Chancellor Merkel’s actions are interpreted, she will be remembered as a key figure in the history of Europe, and the world.

Marion Van Renterghem is a writer and a journalist. She has written for the French daily newspaper, Le Monde, and is now an international reporter at Vanity Fair. She is also a contributing writer at the New European and the winner of the Albert-London and Françoise-Giroud Awards.