i think in the macro has been his political path is to help a full a stable government label to govern a lot of conservatives will seek talks with the social democrats who've already ruled out entering the coalition but also start talks with the appropriateness for the democrats on the great. that's it you're up to date more on emanuel macross speech at the top of the hour in the meantime of course there is always the website that's the w. don't call themselves the. nationalists are on the rise. to make your country great again that is their slogan their focus put your nation first i am taking you know the answer to highlights different shades of nationalism and to find out what this nation mean to you. when the show you story join the conversation here on to tell me you on twitter and on

facebook. at twelve years of ongoing americal were not enough for her staunchest supporters they wanted to keep the chancellor in office for four more years her social democrat challenger martin schultz criticized her policies not to his advantage. if i get one candidate wants to live in the past. when candidate wants to shape the future show it's. told voters you know me that was a decisive factor in her campaign many wanted continuity and like the chancers unassuming style she's not obsessed with demonstrate. in the trappings of political

power. many voters are also proud of the fact that during her administration germany has become a key player on the world stage. germans have grown used to saying until america is meeting with world leaders with loud emir putin she speaks russian which she lived in school. with british prime minister theresa may the chancellor speaks english merkel learned the language from her mother an english teacher. with turkish president regift everyone merkel talks tough. the relationship between merkel and u.s. president donald trump was described by the white house as unbelievable trump former press secretary said the president had a great deal of respect for the german chancellor.

merkel seems to get along particularly well with the new french president manuel michel. the two leaders share a political outlook and that includes a more self-assured europe. on the domestic front merkel ruffled some feathers among conservatives in the state of bavaria with her support for a parliamentary vote on gay marriage. but they liked her pragmatic approach to dealing with donald trump's america first philosophy. besides the time when we can rely completely on others is coming to an end. and i've seen that recently myself so i can tell you this when europeans now have to take control of our own destiny. berkeley's you know and i going to hunt them.

medical takes a practical approach to governing she's not driven by ideology her policies reflect the majority view of her cabinet. on the international stage she keeps a low profile but also fights hard for what she wants. that approach has impressed many world leaders and has enabled the chancellor to put her mark on world affairs. during merkel's administration germany has increased its international profile. the chancellor embodies a new style of leadership a style that is based not on confrontation but on moderation. until america was first elected chancellor on november 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. her predecessor gary hart schroeder it was not the first who had underestimated her. before dr mahathir talked america you have no 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. it took a long time for us in germany to get used to the idea that a woman was doing the job. she had to feed well she never made a song and dance about coming from the east germany or being a woman that would have done nothing for her anyhow. that was kind of what each. woman is not a political class agree. so i can't think of anything about her that you could explain by saying it's because she's

a woman. they also men who focus on dialogue who are careful as that deliberations . if anything it would have to be had to stand for pretention her concept of pella. tendency to avoid showy displays of power which choice was absurd furnish a feat useful code. until america was raised in the former communist east germany she had a quiet untroubled childhood on the outskirts of the town of template. 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. nuff will indeed oh you know also.

she was born on going to cause and hamburg west germany in one nine hundred fifty four a few weeks before her father accepted a post as a pastor in the east. you know mollusca i was an ordinary child i might have had an on tantrum or two but i wasn't particularly stubborn or rebellious. just. it was a childhood between two worlds raised as a christian under a communist regime. by the late one nine hundred eighty s. uncle america had earned a doctorate in physical chemistry and was working at the academy of sciences in east berlin and her first marriage ended in divorce but she kept her former husband's last name medical what was looking like a quiet life as a research scientist was interrupted on november ninth one thousand nine hundred eighty nine. she had just emerged from her weekly visit to the sauna when she was swept up in the crowds pouring across the wall and into west berlin.

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. 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 after in the spring of one thousand nine hundred appoint a 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. coast protege who was appointed minister for women and youth in the first cabinet of the reunify germany. in november one thousand nine hundred nine a year after losing the chance to ship cole was still the honorary chair and ruling patriarch of the christian democrats but then came a scandal. the c.d.u. had run in a listen slush fund involving donor contributions. and broke ranks and made a move that would rock the already shaken old guard of the party in a prominent daily paper she wrote an article proclaiming the end of the coal era thank you months later it was party chairwoman that was the moment she would later reveal when she first believed she could become chancellor thankful. she

was neither a man nor a catholic nor from west germany and so she was the exact opposite of the leaders of her party. let's make this mother think your party leader and center 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 and going to medical and her party narrowly won the general election her first government was a coalition of her christian democrats their bavarian sister party the c.s.u. and the deposed. social democrats it made little headway at first and was slow to implement reforms. in her first two years medical was a cautious leader. critics said she was just muddling through. and sided 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. 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. first challenge as chancellor came during her third year in office the global financial

crisis required intensive management major banks were in danger of collapse and the american government provided billions of euros to save them the chancellor assured the public that their deposits were safe. while her diplomatic touch and talent for compromise were often interpreted at home as a weakness abroad they earned her respect and praise. at the two thousand and seven g eight summit on germany's baltic coast medical succeeded with a mix of principle and persuasion in getting the assembled leaders to agree on a climate change the. she even brought us president george w. bush on board not the most environmentally committed of statesman. if you underestimate her. she's always very well prepared and she knows all the

details. you really have to know the material if you want to have a serious discussion with her. thank you two thousand nine general election saw the c.d.u. c.s.u. bloc post their second worst showing in sixty years but 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 was riddled with squabbling meaningful policy making proved elusive important debates were overshadowed by rivalries within the coalition. for the chancellor it was an often frustrating experience.

in late two thousand and ten the government decided to extend the lifespan of germany's nuclear power plants. just months later it made a dramatic u. turn in response to the disaster at the plant in japan. the situation changed when these images went around the world. that's what brought home for us what residual risk actually meant. and doesn't. she knows that whatever is done to. 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 . if i believe it was a kind of overnight decision. she decided to seize the opportunity and also to send a message to society. 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 two thousand and twenty two and to rapidly 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 were in dire straits 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 carry out austerity reforms. that the mr president ladies and gentlemen.

our thoughts must be focused not on rushing into health prematurely but on ensuring that the entire house is put in order in. that stance faced little opposition within her own ranks unlike in greece as athens slashed public sector wages and pensions and fired civil servants protesters in greece singled out one person to blame on. 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 until america's response was too little too late. it's time for the 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. macas comments were intended to show resolve but instead revealed impotence. it was only after learning that the n.s.a. had also tuned into her own cell phone that an indignant chancellor seemed to mean business. guns i think germany's entire government is cowardly and submissive they don't dare stand up to the us she 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. but michael's approval ratings were barely dennet by the n.s.a. scandal voters trusted her it seemed in part because she avoided conflict one daily called her the perfect chancellor for citizens who don't like trouble and don't want to be bothered by politics.

but when it came to her own political party merkel proved willing to turn her back on traditional positions. for some conservative stalwarts her decisions to phase out nuclear power and military conscription and support a national minimum wage were hard to stomach. this is then. this is an entirely different era for not of how much cooler cannot on an hour not everyone in the cd u.s. growth that is nervous minority. it's hard to believe that it's the same party she didn't make those changes on a whim she brought a c.d.u. into line with reality. the past by it's hard to miss her own accomplishment or just a reflection of the changing times but i say times have changed and merkel was setting

a different agenda from that of hemet cohen and his predecessors. so i know for. me so much as. if you look at what's going on in the catholic church you can see says some 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 you for watching for. over the years until america succeeded in keeping her private life out of the public gaze. she never felt the urge to play to the cameras and her sober down to earth style contributed significantly to her popularity. 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. that's both unusual and appealing.

that's the highest 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. the twenty thirteen general election represented a landslide victory for the christian democrats although it did mean returning to a coalition with the social democrats america's third term in office would see the economy continue its recovery. on other fronts however the chancellor had major crises to contend with. early twenty 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 chancellor merkel issued a sharp protest against that intervention and endorsed economic sanctions against russia. together with them french president francois hollande she embarked on a difficult mission in minsk the capital of belarus. 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 bases 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 it

will. move the chess game forward when at times like that she does what needs to be done. over the years she's become a highly respected figure of authority on the international stage by. the habs that's because hip political style tends to avoid issuing hasty opinions about rice and wrong so. even at the international level she prefers to weigh up all the options and reflect on them shock i'm willing to. bet when she does make a decision it's a sustainable one hundred twenty. helped to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table the result was a cease fire. a fragile one. in early two thousand and

fifteen the greek crisis return to the spotlight. elected government rejected further austerity measures. the coalition of the left wing sarees a party and right wing nationalist announced its intention to renegotiate all the deals their predecessors had made with international creditors greece seemed on the brink of exit in the euro zone. after protracted negotiations the euro group finance ministers agreed to a compromise a package with strings attached medical and our finance minister. persuaded greece to abandon its initial objections and agree to further reforms greece's potential departure from the euro or that had once again been averted. she argued her case very vigorously. and i think that points to an essential feature of america's approach to politics. she sticks to her guns and she expects others to meet the commitments they've made. that biggest mistake i'm going to.

be made is in their dealings with greece because they broke with the principle of solidarity. shortly after the prospect of a greek euro exit seemed resolved another crisis emerged in summer twenty fifteen that overshadowed all others. hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees were passing through turkey and greece headed 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 and you know medical 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 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 and initially 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 her international image was transformed from hardline austerity advocate to the chancellor of welcome there was even talk of her winning the nobel peace prize. is at stake. i'm hopeful the sentence i had 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 of that is important for al countries too. but that example didn't go down well in southeastern europe where refugees marks a welcome hungary soon a record 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 end. and meanwhile found herself accused of positively inviting refugees to. 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 attacks german police officers and journalists the anti immigrant anti muslim to get a movement enjoyed renewed popularity especially in its birthplace preston 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. has indeed been held. at the time several thousand people were crossing the border into. many every day pushing local authorities to their limits as criticism of merkel's policy grew or

ratings fell to an unprecedented low and yet again the chancellor's position was divorced from that of the c.d.u. and the c.s.u. . continue to look to other e.u. member states for a fairer distribution of the refugees in vain. today the open borders are a thing of the past i'm going to medical is helping europe curb the arrival of new migrants and refugees our decisions in twenty fifteen mcconnell says were necessary to avert a catastrophe. thanks she has always been shaped by had personal experience of german reunification. making the unexpected and seemingly impossible possible. in my opinion that's had a profound impact on her political outlook manifest teach skipping. and give america once described the fall of the berlin wall as the happiest moment

in recent german history. that event also gave her the opportunity to start her political career. at the time no one could have imagined that her cautious and unpretentious personal style would one day help our to shape the course of german and european history and now she has the chance to continue that effort for another term in office. the fast pace of life in the digital world shifts as the lowdown on the web showing new developments and providing useful information the wittiest finds and interviews with the makers and users. shifts next on d w.

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