sure of. what unites. what defines. trojan horse. what binds the content together. answers and stories aplenty. spotlight on people. focus on europe on t.w. . the people of the world over information they provide the opinions they want to express d.w. on facebook and twitter up to date and in touch.

because guided not only germany but europe through the headlines and cross currents of the changing world. we welcome and we honor the foreign term chancellor of germany for an excellent city on the lot. a standing ovation and an honorary doctorate for the woman who has led germany for nearly 14 years and appearance that had been announced by harvard university with a glossy promotional trailer.

a video with all the trappings of a hollywood blockbuster yet just a few months earlier the chancellor had announced she would not seek reelection visited yet on this 4th term will be my last as chancellor of the federal republic of germany. the announcement heralded the end of an era even as other world leaders came and went until america remained a central figure for 13 years she had served as a mediator and crisis manager on the world stage. how could such a seemingly unassuming woman succeed in remaining in office for so many years. being underestimated can be very useful at times because it takes a while to become clear that big things lie ahead. she thought she has

a modest unpretentious demeanor and she has 0 interest in material things these 13 years as chancellor and 18 years ahead of the party she's remained completely free of scandal. she's certainly been able to take advantage of the fact that germany places a very high value on stability. in a way i think america deserves some of the blame for the trouble in europe right a lot of people. believe that it might not have happened i would say she has no strategy she has no strategic goal where she wants to take society and that's her true flight this is a cover stay with your money. there's no red thread of conviction or there is is a pragmatics of the power.

2005 the polls had just closed in what appeared a dead heat but the incumbent chancellor gerhard schroeder seemed to short of victory. do you seriously believe that my party will agree to an offer of talks under these circumstances after all is said she wants to be chancellor that's not get carried away. by nov 22nd the winner of the showdown was clear the newly elected. chancellor at 51 she was the youngest ever to hold that position. votes in favor 97. her predecessor was not the only one who had underestimated her. even. now

become germany's 1st democratically elected female head of government that sends a powerful message to many women and no doubt to some men as well. for us in germany to get used to the idea that was doing the job. she never made a song and dance about coming from the former east germany or being a woman that would have done nothing for her. being a woman is not a political catch a great deal so i can't think of anything about that that you could explain by saying it's because she's a woman. they're also men who focus on. careful in their deliberations. flashed anything it would have to be her distain for attention her concept of power also her tendency to avoid showy displays of power. which she always saw

as absurd. furnish a feel for. i'm good america was raised in the former communist east germany she spent a quiet untroubled childhood on the outskirts of the town of templin. has been i grew up in the countryside which was one of the things that shaped me cause i clear up in a clergyman's household and had tyrants i could discuss anything with. i was an upbringing with a lot of intellectual stimulation you know more than you'd normally see in a small town in east germany and. there are you know she was born until a customer in hamburg west germany in 1954 a few weeks before her father except that a post as pastor in the east. coast

i was an ordinary child i might have had the odd tantrum or 2 but i wasn't particularly stubborn nor valiant's in the baelish watch list. it was a childhood between 2 worlds raised as a christian under a communist regime. like the 1980 s. i'm going to america had a doctorate in physics and was working at the academy of sciences in east berlin her 1st marriage ended in divorce but she kept her former husband's last name marco . what was looking like a quiet life as a research scientist was interrupted on november 9th 1989. the wall dividing east from west germany fell. down after she said to mean. mother i've never been much of a civic activist so joining an activist movement isn't my thing she said she'd also

considered the social democrats in january 990 they still looked like they might do really well here but then she thought well 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 ryan a epa man she said it's chaos there they need me to vomit. soon thereafter in spring 1900 until america was appointed deputy spokesperson for the 1st 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. young a woman from the east a fresh face for chance to help west end male dominated c.d.u. that's called protege merkel was appointed minister for women and youth in the 1st

cabinet of the reunify germany in november 1909 a year after losing the chancellorship kohl was still the honorary chair and gruelling patriarch of the christian democrats but then came a scandal coast party the c.d.u. had run an illicit slush fund involving donor contributions it was the biggest scandal in post-war german politics. until america broke ranks and made a move that would rock the already shaken old guard. in a prominent daily she wrote an article proclaiming the end of the coal era. a few months later medical was party chairwoman. this was the moment she would later reveal when she 1st believe she could become chancellor. let's make this mother figure party leader and send her packing after a year most to. prove to be a huge miscalculation. she sent them packing.

in 2005 and get a medical and her party had a narrow win her 1st government was a coalition of her christian democrats there were very insistent party the c.s.u. and the deposed social democrats it made little headway at 1st and was slow to implement reforms in her 1st 2 years america was a cautious leader critics said she was just muddled. through. i meant i'm somebody who tends to decide round the late. i'm often accused of being slow to get out of the starting block slow to take action of letting things train on. 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 the. maturity of it through going to

turns to hesitate to. wait for a majority opinion to emerge before taking a stand but sometimes she gets a job to makes a decision from one day to the next and it's us about math. that goes 1st major challenges chancellor came during her 3rd year in office the global financial crisis required intensive management major banks were in danger of collapse and the merkel government provided billions of euros to save them. the chancellor assured the public that their deposits were safe. while her diplomatic touching talent for compromise were often interpreted at home as a weakness abroad they aren't her respect and praise but the 2007 g 8 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 strategy. she even brought on board us

president george w. bush not the most environmentally aware of contemporary statesman. is essential it's a very important quality to be able to engage with your counterparts and to signal to them i take you seriously. i'm listening and i want to hear what you have to say . that's what america looks heart. the shits for you underestimate her you've already long for she is always very very well prepared and she knows all the details. so you have to really know the material you want to have a serious discussion with her discourse on from. the 2009 general election saw the cd do c.s.

you block post their 2nd worst showing in 60 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 i was but the dream turned sour as the coalition became beset with internal squabbles. meaningful policymaking proved elusive important debates were overshadowed by rivalries within the coalition. for the chancellor it was an often frustrating experience. in late 2010 medical's government decided to extend the lifespan of germany's nuclear power plants. just months later it made a dramatic u. turn. and then also in fukushima happened the

nuclear disaster in japan and within a week or 2 america had changed course on that and decided no we're going to get out of nuclear power that upset a lot of people in our conservative party but upset a lot of people in german industry they're afraid of rising energy costs but she did it was an emotional sort of reaction to the. nuclear disaster in fukushima. not just that i realized straight away that this would also affect us all and then i quickly decided that we would need at the very least a social consensus were guarding the use of nuclear energy. this is a moment that can and. i believe it was a kind of overnight decision. she decided to seize the opportunity and also to send a message to society and his age and 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. merkel's government decided to decommission nuclear plants by 2022 and to rapidly scale up the use of renewable energy. during merkel's 2nd term the global financial and economic crisis remained a pivotal issue and developed into a euro crisis. in southern europe. states were in dire straits while greece appeared headed for bankruptcy. the german chancellor repeatedly insisted that greece will only receive a bailout if the country agree to reduce public spending and institute austerity reforms. that need to then mr president ladies and gentlemen a full it's must be focused not on rushing in to help prematurely us. but

on ensuring that the entire house is put in order. 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 until america is this she doesn't care at all what kind of images being drawn what she cares about is political consistency fishtank gains. this. in may 2013 towards the end of merkel 2nd term the n.s.a. spying scandal broke. details emerged of a widespread internet and telephone surveillance program run by washington for many and get a medical response was too little too late. to talk to him ever since we started to talk about the n.s.a. i have repeatedly told the american president that we don't spy on africans it gone

. comments were intended to show resolve but instead revealed impotence. it was only after learning that the n.s.a. had also tune into her own cell phone that an indignant chancellor seemed to mean business you guys i think germany's entire government is cowardly and submissive so they don't dare stand up to the us. he says it was speaking as a private citizen i would say she was too restrained especially considering she had 1st hand experience of living under a dictatorship. but met approval ratings were barely dented by the n.s.a. scandal voters trusted her it seemed in part because she avoided conflict one day we called her the perfect chancellor for citizens who don't like trouble and don't want to be bothered by politics. with.

but when it came to her own political party medical proved willing to turn her back on traditional positions. for some conservative stalwarts her decisions to phase out nuclear power and to military conscription and support a national minimum wage were hard to stomach. this is to infer is an entirely different era from that of helmut kohl or connor i don't know. it's hard to believe it's. but you have to remember she didn't make those changes on. the c.d.u. in line with reality. by its fans and this was this her own accomplishment or just a reflection of the changing times both sides and that side times had changed and was setting a different agenda from that of his predecessors. over the years. in keeping her private life out of the public gaze she never felt the

urge to play to the cameras. down to earth style contributed significantly to her popularity. people see 3 things in her that they like things that don't involve her strategy your goals. she has a modest unpretentious demeanor. 0 interest in material things that's both unusual and appealing. the 2013 general election represented a landslide victory for the christian democrats although it did mean returning to a coalition with the s.p.d. . 3rd term in office would see the economy continue its recovery. on other fronts however the chancellor had major crises to contend with.

early 2014 dramatic scenes in ukraine european protests on my don square in the capital kiev led to the ousting of president viktor yushchenko fitch. russia proceeded to annex the crimean peninsula in eastern ukraine and rebels and separatists rose up against the government with the support of moscow. chancellor issued a sharp protest against that intervention and endorsed economic sanctions against russia. together with french president francois hollande she embarked on a difficult mission in the capital of bella ruth minsk. u.s. president barack obama left to 2 european leaders to tackle the crisis with russia and try to establish dialogue between the warring parties. levi's. if you compare a word politics to a game of chess she knows which pieces 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 won't move the chess game forward at times like that she does what needs to be done . over the years she has become a highly respected figure of authority on the international stage. perhaps that's because of her political style tends to avoid issuing hasty if the news about rights and wrongs was sufficient even at the international level she prefers to weigh up all the options and reflect on them this is a big in the. last moment. but when she does make a decision it's a sustainable one and they've done and tried to get tough and witty tweaked the. medical help to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table the result was a ceasefire albeit a fragile one. in early 2015 the greek crisis

returned to the spotlight the newly elected government rejected further austerity measures the coalition of the left wing cerise the party and right wing nationalists announced its intention to renegotiate all the deals their predecessors had made with international creditors greece seemed on the brink of exiting the euro zone. after protective negotiations the euro group finance ministers agreed to a compromise a package with strings attached. merkel and her finance minister a vote of conscience persuaded greece to abandon its initial objections and agreed to further reforms greece's potential departure from the euro the dreaded grex it at once again been averted. she had. a gun stock 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 expects others to make the

commitments they for me. the biggest mistake i'm. putting on and work on show a maid is in their dealings with greece because they broke with the principle of solidarity. greece miracle with real villain by a lot of people but she had the courage to keep going to greece and talking to people and she tried to explain the situation in greece and the end of the day greece was able to stay in the euro zone. shortly after the prospect of a greek euro exit appeared resolved another crisis emerged in summer 2015 that overshadowed all others hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees were 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. took

a very clear stand. and germany is a strong country. as we deal with these issues has to be we have achieved so much we can do it if we encounter obstacles we'll overcome them. 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. there's something i think america is going to be remembered about for a long long time around the world the reputation of germany went through the roof after that it was like especially in those states with oh my god they let in a 1000000 refugees in 2015 you got to be kidding me.

but that example didn't go down so well in southeastern europe where refugees weren't so welcome hungry sooner recta the border fence 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 merkel found herself accused of positively inviting refugees to come. through. there were 2 groups 2 responses those who drew inspiration and encouragement who felt called upon to remain active in the refugee situation to open their doors to refugees. they took a kind of pride in what the chancellor had said heard it as a mark of praise. and then there was the other side which didn't hear reassurance and encouragement but who instead responded with fear. but in

a switched off. that. 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 journalist the anti immigrant anti muslim piggy a movement enjoyed a resurgence of support especially in the eastern state of saxony where thousands took to the streets. criticism of merkel's refugee policy mounted within her own ranks once again the chancellor's position was divorced from that of her party. merkel's rival in the governing coalition hostas a hole for issued a public reprimand at the c.s.u. party conference he forced merkel to stand on stage for 13 minutes while he gave her a dressing down. perhaps they were laughing themselves silly that they taking this very high podium and say who is the big guy on it next to it there. is though

they're in school and the teacher said you go stand in the corner and be quiet because then came the to raid that to rage against merkel and her policies she just had to stand there. and see she did. that was a travesty whatever their opinion of angle americal many people felt that this kind of treatment did real harm to our political culture. and put it to. cologne on new year's eve 2015. the celebrations near the cathedral became the scene of mass assaults women were sexually harassed groped robbed some were raped the victims described their attackers as men of arabic or north african descent far right populist sees the movement claiming merkel's refugee policy. that their side was the far right party which had initially formed in opposition to the euro and

the e.u. bailouts but by then it had become anti immigrant and it joined the. attack. one. more as i was. finishing school the church that i'm going to america in some way caused or promoted the influx of refugees is absurd for both the. research a long time we ignored the thousands of people arriving on lampedusa it was. the thousands drowning in the mediterranean. thousands living under terrible conditions in cali waiting to somehow make it to britain he said. mitt these and in the what we've seen in recent years has been the systematic demonization of

a policy that's been given merkel's name. with her statement we can do it until america had however inadvertently taken a risk now she was left isolated on the political stage her popularity at home declined. after years of going from strength to strength the chancellor was suddenly floundering. by then thousands of refugees were crossing the border every day. the german federal states and municipalities were struggling to cope. under intense pressure until americal set out on a thankless mission to negotiate a deal with turkey that would stem the arrival of refugees. and i'm going to medical is a pragmatist and in that situation she realized things couldn't continue as they

were and that's what was behind her decision to stand this is. so germany is strong and yet in that situation germany suddenly looked weak on so now what. she went to out on and indirectly provided human is about who are to news election campaign and said they will look the other way while he bombs the kurdish people because and that we remain silent about his indirect or direct support for the so-called islamic state all to make sure he keeps the refugees away a bitter defeat. within just months the open doors had shut. for the 2nd time the chancellor had done a u. turn once again she stood alone between 2 fronts now criticism hailed down from the left and applause came from the right the number of refugees arriving in germany plummeted as quickly as it had risen. the next crisis was brewing britain was in the grips of

a raging debate. for months politicians had been whipping up n.t.e.u. sentiment oh my god please the e.u. is making a mess of the everything 1st we have the eurozone then we have the common asylum policy compelled it hugely by angela merkel i what we've seen huge streams of people coming into europe over the course of the last year you know security checks anybody every week we send a 150000000 in brussels money that placed. that's enough to build. these numbers were a fiction put forth by a referendum campaign to leave the european union to remain or to leave in the end a slim majority of british voters decided in favor of bracks it. thank you very much i got out you know it's very. integrated.

it was i'm with i was great for gretz we must today recognise. decision of the majority of the british people i think she's deeply hurt by britain leaving the european union i think secretly should probably hopes they'll be a 2nd referendum someday and maybe that will be overturned. and if the o.p.'s all you want. it's going to imagine that when uncle america was still living behind the iron curtain when germany was still divided on the european union was something very compelling for her now to give us a massive. and scenes of its. picked freedom that europe gave the west and prevailed in the west of our country was something she could only dream of and investigation of yet i don't want to but it's something that historians will always be looking at the 2015 flood of refugees coming in from syria to germany and then the brics a vote half year or so ready later so are those 2 things connected probably they are. across the atlantic the united states was also at

a turning point barack obama made a final trip abroad as president. on social media he paid tribute to the chancellor as a close ally. across the board she's always been somebody i can trust and somebody who i think deeply believes in. the role that germany can play and that all wealthy nations can play and not only making our countries better but also making the world better their relationship at the beginning of their 8 years together wasn't really that close it was a bit frosty but it evolved and i think it became a really close close friendship there's pictures in the german newspapers of them looking into it like they're the best friends for life and i think medical and obama appreciated and respected each other and i think obama relied on america for a lot of things. a last good look from obama and

a farewell that left a visible dent in the chancellor's normal composure. that with barack obama's departure she was losing one of her most important international allies. the new occupant of the white house had other priorities we are going to make america great again we will make america great again we wrote a. great act and the word soon became deeds it became clear that the relationship between the u.s. and germany was shifting the. time the times in which we could fully rely on office one notch legal and by. the end of it here you can feel your this is in a certain sense important and meaningful to her as

a sign and that must make it all the more painful that relations have now become so strained in the wake of this america 1st policy that this cause us america focused . on as well which doesn't accord with your own understanding of how politics should operate at all. the shade is politics as the antithesis of seeking to gain advantage at the expense of others always seeks to find that balance. she's resisted trump's efforts to split europe trump keeps trying to get marigold to do deals on steel and things and tries to get medical to convince the rest of the europe paean union to do these deals that are favorable to trump but she refuses she pushes that all of brussels so at least trump americal do talk to each other and i think my sense is that trump understands how important their call is. while that may be true it's not always apparent that their 1st joint press conference donald trump gets on going to medical the cold shoulder.

and. what's going to america maintains an unflappable confidence in situations where her counterpart perhaps a man who is critical of her is attempting to provoke her and i hope that what by sitting in situations like that she grit your teeth and maintains her poise and never appears awkward or ungracious. but her response makes it clear that her counterpart has behaved in a way that wasn't right. not there that's one of the positive traits about america that she stays relaxed she's willing to talk to anybody she doesn't have this male macho persona about her she's a consummate deal maker and she does it without without an ego she doesn't let or ego get in the way she's just trying to get results. in france a man who had ascended to the presidency with ambitions to be remembered as a staunch defender of a new europe. in austria 31 year old's a bust on course became chancellor another in

a new wave of youthful politicians that contrast with the chancellor's state leadership style. july 2017 at the g 20 summit until america once again sought to win the support of world . leaders for existing agreements on free trade and climate protection in vain within just a few weeks donald trump announced that the us was withdrawing from the paris climate accord abandoning global trade deals and imposing tariffs. efforts at international cooperation were increasingly meeting closed doors. began to seek new partners for her policies. within 2 and a half years she paid visits to 12 african nations some more than once by strengthening international cooperation and establishing new conditions for development aid the chancellor aims to stem the conditions that lead africans to attempt to cross into europe. africa has now become a centerpiece of until america's foreign policy and development aid has become

linked to immigration policy. given your words together we want to send a clear message today that is good and productive neighborly relations between africa and europe are important to us. back at home a fresh crisis was brewing the 2017 general elections brought merkel's coalition in its worst ever showing her social democratic partners lost the most votes in their view because the centrist coalition eroded their own base of support. merkel is a genius when it comes to weakening other parties she's taken away a lot of the platforms of the s.p.d. and made them her own the cd was always against the minimum wage poof there's a minimum wage now america gets credit for it. gay marriage is something the city was always opposed in america voted against it but she actually made it possible

that the marriages in germany because she let the deputies and parliament vote the way they wanted to not to unleash. of course by opening her party to the center and her policy reforms within her own party she was taking a risk i. want and that's the anger of the right wing of her own party. in that sense she does bear some responsibility for the rise of the f.t. and for the fact that the f.t. has been able to garner such strong support on the right wing of her own party. for the 1st time the far right entered the german parliament merkel sought to form a new coalition government with the green party and pro-business free democrats after weeks of negotiations the f.d.p. withdrew. it's just it's better not to govern than to govern incorrectly. the americans surely regretted that as did many germans and i was the 1st and you

have to figure that many people are growing rather weary with this lengthy term in office not to mention always with the same political partner. and it's not as appealing as being able to chart a fresh course with someone else. after a vigorous intervention by the german president and an s.p. party member a vote the social democrats agree to enter into another grand coalition more than 5 months had passed since the election the longest that the federal republic of germany has ever gone without a government. the months of uncertainty extracted their price in the $28.00 teams state elections the parties america's coalition saw their combined vote dropped by more than 20 percent the left and right came the most particularly the far right f.t. a trend that solidified in the 2900 european parliament election. their full bow to the reality that her centrist course could no longer command a majority she announced her plans to withdraw from politics.

since 1st at the next cd you party conference in hamburg in december i will not stand for election as party leader. second this 4th term in office will be my last as chancellor of the federal republic of germany. in the 2021 federal elections i will not seek another term as chancellor for the christian democrats i think. merkel has been looking for the right moment to lead for a long long time it was one little small incident but she's a big soccer fan and after the world cup when the captain phillips quit she was the 1st to congratulate him on that and i thought wow she must admire him for picking the right moment because. that's something i think that's been the back of her mind i think she saw helmut kohl as somebody who stayed a little bit to law. and given their goals political philosophy had always been one of soft power during the election for her successor as party

leader she remained a potent force in the background. and it conveyed comp and power medical's favored candidate became head of the c.d.u. . i think in general germany has become a very prosperous successful country under america she's done a good job steering the ship and people are generally pretty happy with merkel and climatically had to him a bit out and i'm going to go has always been willing to enter into open sided situations with any situations without an obvious outcome to negotiations that was one of her key strengths her stand. over many years the chancellor from the former east germany was able to make her mark on politics often overcoming resistance from within her own party or from international partners her final 2 years on the political stage now lie ahead which will surely bring fresh challenges the last chapter of i'm going to marcos legacy is yet to be written.

the allegations are serious. is turkey's intelligence agency carrying out an functions across the globe. to men who tell their stories of capture jail and torture. are the kidnappings that they're the ones beating. up dr. seuss on. w.-o. . the

1st clue listen some of the doors grandmother arrives. joining a regular jane on her journey back to freedom. in our interactive documentary tour . returns home on d w dot com tanks. frank food. international gateway to the best connection sells road and rail. located in the heart of europe connected to the whole world. experience outstanding shopping and dining offers and trialling services. biala gassed at frankfurt airport city managed by for.

plane. this is news live from our land she has made history and now is the 1st woman to win the top job sets 1st sights on europe's future. it's necessary that we opt have to take bold action. parts of the honda line tell d w what is at the top of her agenda as in field commission president also coming up a rare progression a world view and u.s. house of representatives a vote to denounce president donald trump for racist comments to.