If there were a prize for self-righteousness, Angela Merkel would easily win it. She never misses an opportunity to say how at peace she is with herself. And now for the memoirs!
Four months ago, Angela Merkel sat in the Berliner Ensemble and said that after she left the Chancellery she would only go to feel-good appointments. That was a bit mean towards the reporter Alexander Osang, who was sitting next to her, because one involuntarily wondered whether the evening of talks with him was also planned as a feel-good appointment. But one could understand her statement in such a way that she would make herself rare in the future.
Unfortunately she didn’t stick to it. Not a week goes by without the former chancellor showing up somewhere and giving advice. At the end of September she was at the opening ceremony of the Kohl Foundation in Berlin, where she spoke about herself, Kohl and Putin. Then she gave the speech on the occasion of the 1100th anniversary of the city of Goslar, of course with a view to Russia. Then a week later the next speech, this time on the occasion of the 77th birthday of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, also taking into account the German-Russian relationship.
In between, she was in New York to accept the UN Refugee Agency’s award for her commitment to the refugee crisis, followed by an appearance in Lisbon, where she explained why she did not in any way support her decision to rely entirely on Russia for energy supply regret.
Change through trade? She never believed in it. Putin as warlord? Has she never had any illusions? The invasion of Ukraine? Saw her coming for a long time.
Of course, she also knows exactly how to do it better. She advises those responsible in government to show more leadership. She has the advice ready for the Foreign Minister to start thinking now about how Russia can be reintegrated into the European security architecture. The really remarkable thing, I would say, is that people don’t fall out of their chairs with laughter when the 16-year-old chancellor speaks to them. But probably only someone who is not employed by the “Süddeutsche” can think like that.
I have written about all the Chancellors. Adenauer considered none of his successors as suitable as himself. Kohl’s stubbornness was also legendary. Anyone who wasn’t with him was against him, there was nothing in between for him. But when it comes to self-righteousness, Angela Merkel is once again in a league of her own.
You can tell by looking at her. She got that neck from people who think they’ve done everything right in life. The head is so tight there isn’t much room left except for a nod of self-approval.
Last week, “Spiegel” presented the results of commendable research into your government’s stance on Nord Stream 2. For months, a team of editors had been trying to get access to the previously kept secret report, in which the Ministry of Economics, then headed by Peter Altmaier, was supposed to assess the risks of another gas pipeline to Russia. There were warnings, especially from Eastern Europe and the USA, that Germany would become even more dependent on the Kremlin if it went into operation.
On the other hand, the sunniest assessment from Berlin: The new pipeline will not weaken European security of supply, but on the contrary will increase it. In principle, Gazprom has no influence on the volume of deliveries passed through, it only ensures the transport. More tubes, more gas, more reliability – that was the conclusion four months before the outbreak of war and eight months before Putin shut off the gas tap.
Of the many ministers who served Angela Merkel, Peter Altmaier was always the most loyal of the loyal. He would never have dared to resent the boss or initiate a decision that could have made her unhappy. So you can certainly attribute your assessment to the chancellor. The point is clear: no government has made us so dependent on the supply of energy from a hostile state as that of Angela Merkel. During her tenure, dependency on Russian gas has increased from 43 percent to 55 percent. But as I said: in the long run no reason for regret.
The trouble is, it doesn’t get any better. There is a man in the Chancellery who wants to be like his predecessor. If there is a role model for Olaf Scholz to follow, it is the woman with the self-confidence of a divine empress. When he went into the election campaign, his promise was: I’m like Angela Merkel, only without the diamond. He was mocked for it. But the people who would have re-elected Merkel if they had been allowed to do so were numerous enough to put him in the chancellorship.
Knowing everything beforehand is even better than being right in hindsight. Appearance Olaf Scholz at the mechanical engineering summit on Tuesday last week. Putin uses gas as a weapon? Quote Scholz: “I was always sure that he would do that.”
Energy has never been as expensive as it is now. But instead of panicking, you should calmly check potential savings at home. As our guide shows, there are many of them.
At least Gerhard Schröder could say that he saw the good in Putin’s reptilian eyes. According to their own statements, Merkel and Scholz have never given in to illusions. What should you call their behavior? You knew what Putin is capable of and still handed him the gas weapon and even loaded it? Blue-eyed falls out as an explanation. If I were legal counsel for the two of them, I would say: be careful, a lawsuit for treason is quickly launched. Better excuse negligence. It doesn’t sound that good, but it saves you a lot of hassle compared to intent.
Would admitting misjudgment make the situation we are in better? It wouldn’t. But it could help prevent you from making the same mistake again. Coping with the past is always also provision for the present. Anyone who recognizes where they were wrong in their assessment may be warned next time.
When they think of China, most people think of the huge sales market. But if we’re not careful, we’ll trade one dependency for another, especially when it comes to energy production. Calculated over their life cycle, no other energy source devours as many rare metals and earths as photovoltaics and wind power. And guess where most of the metals used to make solar panels and wind turbines come from? Unfortunately, it is not Europe, but the country of the middle.
Angela Merkel is now working on her memoirs, together with her office manager Beate Baumann. “The book will provide an exclusive, personal insight into the political life and work of the former Chancellor,” says Kiepenheuer’s publisher’s announcement
You don’t have to be a psychic to tell what will be in the memoir. Our former chancellor is at peace with herself. There was no alternative to their policy in the truest sense of the word. Anyone who sees it differently has understood nothing and understood nothing. An ideal gift for masochists. But there are enough of those in Germany, so that nothing stands in the way of at least a good placement on the bestseller list.
• Read all of Jan Fleischhauer’s columns here.
The readers love him or hate him, Jan Fleischhauer is indifferent to the least. You only have to look at the comments on his columns to get an idea of how much people are moved by what he writes. He was at SPIEGEL for 30 years, and at the beginning of August 2019 he switched to FOCUS as a columnist.
Fleischhauer himself sees his task as giving voice to a world view that he believes is underrepresented in the German media. So when in doubt, against the herd instinct, commonplaces and thought templates. His texts are always amusing – perhaps it is this fact that provokes his opponents the most.
You can write to our author: By email to j.fleischhauer@focus-magazin.de or on Twitter @janfleischhauer.
