Miracle of Merkel
July 30, 2007
Being famous is surely a tough job. Just ask Brad and Angelina. Or that good old overachiever Madonna, who consistently refuses to stay with her own age. They all work so hard at preserving their image and compromise so much of their privacy just to remain on the covers of glossy magazines.
Angela, on the other hand, makes fame appear easy. Wherever she goes, she is praised for her winning combination of diplomatic skills and unflinching perseverance. During a recent EU summit, the German chancellor practically saved Europe from the brink of a disaster. For her, however, it's all just part of the job. No more and no less.
Let's not get touchy-feely
Germany's top job has, of course, its perks. In 2006, for instance, Merkel received a widely-publicized backrub from the embarrassingly easy-going US president George W. Bush. Not many politicians can say that they were groped by the leader of the free world.
She attends festival openings and mingles with the glitterati, but remains oddly down-to-earth. When asked about whether fame had changed her and whether her husband was noticing anything different about her, she answered in her usual, direct, matter-of-fact tone that the breakfast she was preparing for them was still the same.
Even though she might have done so, it's silly to picture Margaret Thatcher frying bacon and eggs, or even just heating up a serving of refried beans for that scary abomination that the British call their breakfast. But it is not hard to imagine Angela hovering over a stove.
It's a surprisingly credible and comforting image. It gives representative democracy a glimmer of hope that some politicians, once they climb to the top, can actually remain human beings. That is, perhaps, one of the reasons why she remains extremely popular in Germany.
She rules, literally
Business leaders seem to agree. In a recent poll about politicians as potential business leaders, the German chancellor got very positive reviews. When asked about which German politician they would accept as their boss, 81 percent of German managers said Angela Merkel.
At the same time, 70 percent of those polled said they thought the trained physicist was capable of running a large enterprise. In comparison, Germany's economy minister, Michael Gloss, got only 42 of positive votes in this category, while Labor Minister Franz Müntefering rated even worse -- with only 37 percent of votes.
So what does the career of Angela Merkel teach us about life in general -- other than that still water runs deep and that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?
It teaches us that an unassuming and soft-spoken woman can break barriers and achieve more than a pompous, cigar-smoking macho of the Gerhard Schröder variety. The former chancellor would probably beg to differ, but his portrait is already hanging in the German Chancellery, which means he's been relegated to history.
Old Angela, new Angela
Angela's transformation from an awkward and stuttering newcomer in the world of Schröders, Stoibers and their mostly male buddies is best judged by the media coverage of her arrival to the glitzy opening of the Bayreuth Opera Festival.
Two years ago, Germany was roaring with laughter because the light apricot jacket-skirt combo, which Merkel wore for the opening, was soiled with sweat stains underneath her armpits. This year, however, German tabloid Bild went gaga over Merkel's fashion accessory du jour -- a strap-on purse which the newspaper, known for its familiarity with hyperbole, described as a "floating magic bag."
Gracefully walking down the red carpet in a sweat-free lilac outfit -- which, admittedly, some catty observers said resembled a combination of a business jacket and a potato sack -- Merkel waved at the onlookers with her right hand, while her left arm remained comfortably limp with an elegant bag attached to her wrist. From certain angles, it looked like Merkel's purse was indeed hovering in the air.
In two years, Merkel went from being sneered upon as an extra in a deodorant ad to being admired as a middle-aged, top-tier version of Sarah Jessica Parker. Transformation is her forte. And it is no surprise that most German managers think she would make a good boss.
That is the miracle of Merkel.