in our web special w dot com. football made in germany. hash tag germany decides the election in germany a historic turning point big losses for the two main parties and a first for the far right angle in the uk it remains chancellor but forming a government won't be easy then what does the result for germany german elections the day after in the news on d w. even when she's in the limelight uncle america is never keen on taking center stage the german chancellor prefers to avoid the public displays of power enjoyed by many of her contemporaries but despite her reticence for more than

a decade on going to merkel has been one of the most influential and powerful figures in germany and around the world. for years this has been the familiar image of uncle america a central figure among the world's leaders during her chancellorship germany consolidated its position as a leading car within europe like no other german politician machall has come to embody this new leadership grow one that is devoid of pomp and grand you. hers is an approach that is good not to confrontation but to pragmatism mediation and restraint. and a magical was first elected chancellor on november the twenty second two thousand and five at fifty one she was the youngest ever to hold that position and the first

woman. made yards in favor three hundred ninety seven. ok to censor gary hart schneider was not the first to have underestimated her. the before dr. you have now become germany's first democratically elected female head of government that sends a powerful message to many women and no doubt to some men as well. when this. took a long time for us in germany to get used to the idea that a woman was doing the job. that. she had vidocq while she never made a song and dance about coming from the old east germany or being a woman that would have done nothing for her anyhow. that was kind of. for her a woman is not a political category this is so i can't think of anything about her that you could explain by saying it's because she's a woman. they are also men who focus on dialogue who are careful of their

deliberations. if anything it would have to be her disdain for pretension her concept of power and. tendency to avoid showy displays of power which she always saw as absurd furnish a quote. until america was raised in the former communist east germany she spent a quiet on troubled childhood on the outskirts of the town of temping. it's been often not and i grew up in the countryside which was one of the things that shaped me i grew up in a clergyman's household and had parents i could discuss anything with it was an upbringing with a lot of intellectual stimulation more than you'd normally see in a small town in east germany and. enough we will indeed i know also. she was born angulo cause not and hamburg west germany in one thousand nine hundred fifty

four a few weeks before her father accepted a post as pastor in the east. in all mollusca i was an ordinary child i might have had an tantrum or two but i wasn't particularly stubborn or rebellious. list. it was a childhood between two worlds raised as a christian under a communist regime. by the 1980's uncle americal had a doctorate in physics was working at the academy of sciences in east berlin her first marriage ended in divorce but she kept a full my husband's last name. what was looking like a quiet life as a research scientist was interrupted on november the ninth one thousand nine hundred ninety she had just emerged from her weekly soma visit when she was swept up in the crowds pouring across the ward and into west ballin. i as. she

said to me mother i've never been much of a civic activist so joining an activist movement isn't my thing but. she said she'd also consider the social democrats. in january one nine hundred ninety they still look like they might do really well here. but then they'll make it on their own we need something new chef and that was her pragmatic mind speaking. and then came the east german democratic movement the democratic awakening which included pastor wright. she said it's chaos there they need me. soon thereafter in spring nine hundred ninety eight. was appointed deputy spokesperson for the first and only democratically elected east german government. that was the turning point she joined the christian democrats the c.d.u. and began a rapid and grueling rise up the political ladder. americal seemed

made to order for then chancellor helmut kohl she was just what he wanted for his west and male dominated christian democrats young a woman and from the east as coles protege was appointed minister for women and youth in the first cabinet of the reunify germany. in november one thousand nine hundred ninety year after losing the chancellorship cole was still the honorary chair and running patriarch of the christian democrats but then came a scandal kohls party the c.d.u. had run an illicit slush fund involving donor contributions ugly american broke ranks and made a move that would rock the already shaken old guard of the party in a prominent daily she wrote an article proclaiming the end of the cold era a few months later america was party chairman this was the moment she would later revealed when she first believed she could become chancellor. if. she was neither a man nor

a catholic nor from west germany. so she was the exact opposite of the leaders of her party. let's make this mother fit your party leader and send her packing after a year or at most two that proved to be a huge miscalculation because she sent them packing. in two thousand and five uncle americal anti-party narraway won the general election the first government was a coalition of christian democrats their bavarian sister party to. c.s.u. and the deposed social democrats it made little headway and fast and was slow to implement reforms in her first two years merkel was a cautious leader critics and she was just muddling through. and sides i'm somebody who tends to decide rather late i'm often accused of being

slow to get out of the starting block slow to take action of letting things drift. but for me it's always important to work through all the possible options as to what should be done and not just as a theoretical exercise or a thought experiment i try to live with them i. believe. mike she doesn't like superficial solutions and she doesn't like superficial rhetoric she can get impatient when people start spouting off. many issues she waits to see what the majority decides before she takes a stand but sometimes she gets a jolt and makes a decision from one day to the next to her. because first major challenges chancellor came during her third year in office the global financial crisis required intensive management major banks were in danger of

collapse and the medical government provided billions of euros to save them the chancellor assured the public that bad deposits sank. while her diplomatic touch and talent for compromise were often interpreted at home as a weakness abroad they and her respect and price of the two thousand and seven g eight summit on germany's baltic coast merkel succeeded with a mix of principle and persuasion in getting the assembled leaders to agree. on a climate change strategy. even brought on board u.s. president george w. bush not the most environmentally aware of contemporary statesman. stop one for or if you underestimate her you're louis she's always very very well

prepared and she knows all the details. oh you really have to know the material if you want to have a serious discussion with her. discourse on food. thank you thank you and the two thousand and nine general election saw the c.d.u. c.s.u. blog post their second where showing in sixty years they still managed to secure a coalition with their preferred partners the center right free democrats although the economy was struggling the new government cut taxes and took on record new debt . but the dream turned sour as the coalition became beset with internal squabbles meaningful policy making proved elusive important debates were overshadowed by rivalries within the coalition but the chancellor it was often a frustrating experience.

in late two thousand and ten the government decided to extend the life span of germany's nuclear power plants. just months later it made a dramatic u. turn in response to the disaster at the fukushima plant in japan. the situation changed when these images went around the world. and that's what brought home for us what residual risk actually meant affected and ugly america doesn't that there were about as. she knows that whatever is done to you. you know too late is doomed to fail success and politics is all about the right moment and about knowing when to seize that moment meant finke of us to have. if i believe it was a kind of overnight decision. she decided to seize the opportunity and also to send a message to society and it was a tough one her name would be associated with the decision to end nuclear power and

she'd end up in the history books she spoke. with in germany the fukushima disaster put an end to a discussion that had dragged on for years the longstanding energy policy debate seemingly vanished overnight government decided to decommission nuclear plants by twenty twenty two and to radically scale up the use of renewable energy. during merkel's second term the global financial and economic crisis remained a pivotal issue and developed into a euro crisis southern euro zone states who were in dire straits while greece appeared headed for bankruptcy. the german chancellor repeatedly insisted that greece would only receive a bailout if the country agreed to reduce public spending and institute austerity reforms. at the best of my student ladies and gentleman.

our thoughts must be focused not on rushing into health prematurely but on ensuring that the entire house is put in order in a. bad stance face little opposition within her own ranks unlike in greece as athens slashed public sector wages and pensions and find civil servants protesters in greece singled out one person to blame. in mid two thousand and thirteen. towards the end of machall second term the n.s.a. spying scandal broke details emerged of a widespread internet and telephone surveillance program run by washington for many america's response was too little too late. it's not a game ever since we started to talk about the n.s.a. i have repeatedly told the american president that we don't spy on our friends it's

gone. michaels comments were intended to show results but instead revealed impotence it was only after learning that the n.s.a. had also tuned into our own cell phone that an indignant chancellor seemed to mean business. because of the germany's entire government as cowardly and submissive they don't dare stand up to the us and he says it was speaking as a private citizen i would say she was too restrained especially considering she had first hand experience of living under a dictatorship. medical's approval ratings were barely dented by the n.s.a. scandal photos trusted her it seemed in part because she avoided conflict one day he called her the perfect chancellor for citizens who don't like trouble and don't want to be too bothered by politics.

but when it came to her own political party medical proved willing to turn her back on traditional business sions to some conservative still wants her decisions to phase out nuclear power and military conscription and support a national minimum wage hard to stomach. this is the end of. this is an entirely different era for not of helmuth color of cannot on an hour not everyone in the city u.s. graphic that is but there are small minority. it's hard to believe that it's the same party but she didn't make those changes on a whim she brought a cd you into line with reality cd would have passed by it's hard to miss her own accomplishment or just a reflection of the changing times but i'd say times have changed and merkel was setting a different agenda from that of hemet kohut and his predecessors. vinnie

so much as. if you look at what's going on in the catholic church you can see he says and parallels. institutions that seem to believe people shouldn't expect too much from them and a leader who says if you refuse to change you're done with that had fallen. over the years under american succeeded in keeping her private life out of the public gaze she never felt the urge to play to the cameras bought her sober down to earth style contributed significantly to happen. before people see three things on her that they like things that don't involve her strategy or her goals. she was she seems modest. she's not vain and she has zero interest in material things. usual and appealing. to her

a new part of her secret. that's part of why so many people accept and trust her. they don't see her as someone who is out to prove herself. they see her as someone who wants to change things. for two thousand and thirteen general election represented in landslide victory for the christian democrats. returning to a coalition with the social democrats because her time in office would see the economy continue its recovery. on other fronts however the chancellor had major crises to contend with. early two thousand and fourteen dramatic scenes in ukraine where pro european protests on my down square in the capital kiev led to the ousting of president victoriana coverage. russia

proceeded to annex the crimean peninsula in eastern ukraine pro russian rebels and separatists rose up against the government with the support of moscow johnson americal issued a sham protest against that intervention and endorsed economic sanctions against russia. together with french president francois hollande she embarked on a difficult mission in minsk the capital of better roads u.s. president barack obama left it to european leaders to tackle the crisis with russia and try to establish dialogue between the warring parties. levi's if you compare world politics to a game of chess she knows which places to move and when she feels there's no point in saying that's an ugly chess piece i want nothing to do with it she knows that what. move the chess game forward when at times like that she does what needs to be

done. this is a he. is east in lafayette hopefully a period so i love you to that's over the years she's become a highly respected figure of authority on the international stage by. the habs that's because her political style tends to avoid issuing hasty opinions about rice and wrong. into that sort of english. even at the international level she prefers to weigh up all the options and reflect on them shock i'm willing to. just point but when she does make a decision it's a sustainable one and clanked. medical help to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table the result was a cease fire even if a fragile one. you know early two thousand and fifteen the greek crisis return to the spotlight the newly

elected government rejected five austerity measures the coalition of the left wing syriza party right wing nationalist announced its intention to renegotiate the deals their predecessors had made with international creditors greece seemed on the brink of exiting the euro zone. after trying to negotiations the euro group finance ministers agreed to a compromise or a package with strings attached medical and have finance minister. persuaded greece to abandon its initial objections and agree to further reforms reeses potential departure from the euro the dreaded gregg's it and once again been averted the hats she argued her case very vigorously. and i think that points to an essential feature of angela merkel's approach to politics. she sticks to her guns and she expects others to meet the commitments they've made. mistake.

made as in their dealings with greece because they broke with the principle of solidarity. shortly after the prospect of a greek euro exit appeared result another crisis emerged in the summer of two thousand and fifteen that overshadowed all out of. hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees passing through turkey and greece heading for central and western europe and especially germany. most were fleeing the brutal war in syria in the face of a humanitarian disaster in the making i'm going to machall took a very clear stand. and i look at germany as a strong country as we deal with these issues our motto has to be we have achieved so much we can do it if we encounter obstacles we will overcome them. she had

added she has a very strong sense of what needs to be done what must be done for example if we take the notion of individual human dignity seriously and of compassion is fundamental to being a christian and for. germany was to welcome refugees with open arms. at least the mood in the country was a positive one the world caught a glimpse of a new unfamiliar germany and chancellor. within weeks our international image was transformed from hardline i stared the advocate to the chancellor of welcome there was even talk of her winning the nobel peace prize. is at stake. i hope it's the sentence i heard most often within the circles of foreign ambassadors was thank you germany. when they were. they would often say. this decision that germany has made germany has shown to be

possible. sets an example that is important for al countries too. but that example didn't go down so while in southeastern europe where refugees once i welcome hungary soon erected a border fence to limit the influx while various balkan states fast tracked the new arrival straight through to austria and germany. so much for the solidarity between european nations the brief summer of exuberant welcome came to a sudden and in the meanwhile merkel found herself accused of positively inviting refugees to come. for. the charge that some way caused or promoted the influx of refugees is absurd. for such a long time we ignored the thousands of people arriving on lampedusa. the thousands

drowning in the mediterranean. the thousands living under terrible conditions in cali waiting to somehow make it to britain. soon a mood of fear and hostility had erupted in germany as well extremists set fire to refugee hostels and attacked german police officers and journalists the anti immigrant anti muslim picket a movement enjoyed a resurgence of support especially in its birthplace dresden where thousands took to the streets. spoke out against the rise of the far right. don't follow those who call these demonstrations all too often their hearts are full of prejudice coldness and even hatred. in. the time several thousand people were crossing the border into germany. every day pushing local authorities to their limits as criticism of medicals policy group

ratings found to an unprecedented low yet again the chancellor's position was divorced from that of her party the c.d.u. and c.s.u. machall continue to look to have a few members states for a fairer distribution of the refugees invest today the open borders are a thing of the past and america is helping europe because of the arrival of new migrants and refugees the decisions in two thousand and fifteen medical now says a necessary to avert a catastrophe. c. is fake she has always been shaped by her personal experience of german reunification definitely making the unexpected seemingly impossible possible. in my opinion that's had a profound impact on her political outlook manifested with so teach skipping. americal has called the fall of the berlin wall one of her happiest moments and the

most joyful moment in recent german history. with patience and persistence caution and pragmatism i'm glad merkel has shaped an entire era of german and international politics and now has a mandate for another four years. quadriga

special after the. election journalists discuss the election twenty seven germany has voted. how should we interpret the election results

what do they mean for the european union. after the german election international banker led. the sling and the crash d w i me speak your language talk about. for content in dari pashto. prospects for returning power with special feeling at the refugee journeys of life in germany and the prospects for those returning home. to join the discussion on d w dot com and on facebook. prospects. for return east d.w. may for mines. hash tag germany decides what is your take on the whole position regarding not only climate change. germany has voted we answered your questions. you put it. past d

w your questions about germany but again i had a medical they would not attend and. write to us on facebook we'll answer your questions. this is a fifteen year old girl. being gang raped. this teacher is beating a boy for talking back in class. but the rest of the class watches. and here is toddlers being hit by his mother. breaking up lines. as a child sleeps in the streets because her family through right. here. online bullying. pushes a teenager over the edge. just because you can see violence against children

doesn't mean it isn't there make the invisible visible of us might violence against children disappear. this is due to the news coming to live from berlin on the americal begins the horde work of building a government she's ready to talk to former partners the social democrats but they've already ruled out a return a government that could mean miracles.