German Chancellor Angela Merkel was a complete outsider — a research chemist and pastor’s daughter raised in Soviet-controlled East Germany — who rose to become the unofficial leader of the West. Acclaimed biographer Kati Marton set out to pierce the mystery of how Merkel achieved this. She found the answer in Merkel’s political genius: in her skill at negotiating without compromising on what’s most important to her, her canniness in appointing political rivals to her cabinet and exacting their policies so they have no platform to run against her, her willingness to allow others to take credit for things done in tandem, the wisdom to stay out of the papers and off Twitter, and the vision to take advantage of crises to enact bold change.
Famously private, the Angela Merkel who emerges in The Chancellor is a role model for anyone interested in gaining and keeping power while holding onto one’s moral convictions. No modern leader has so ably confronted Russian aggression, provided homes to over a million refugees, and calmly unified Europe at a time when other countries are becoming more divided. But Marton also describes Merkel’s many challenges, such as her complicated relationship with President Obama, who she at one point refused to speak to. Timely and revelatory, this definitive biography and great morality tale shows the difference an exceptional leader can make for the greater good of a country and the world.
Recommended Age | Adults |
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Author | Kati Marton |
ISBN | 1501192620 |
Publication Date | Oct 26, 2021 |
Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Language | English |