The Leadership of Angela Merkel
The Leadership of Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel was the first-ever female chancellor of Germany, and she held the position for more than 13 years. Not only did she make history but she rose to become one of the world’s most powerful leaders of the last decade.
On January 18, 1991, Angela Merkel became the Federal Minister of Women and Youth in the cabinet of Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl. This was her first major political position that resulted in the Equal Opportunities Act, which is an act aimed at improving the status of women working professionals.
She was also responsible for ensuring that every child in Germany gets the opportunity to be in a kindergarten. This was a major step forward for parents in the West German Federal regions during that time. Moreover, she also actively participated in the first UN Climate Conference in Berlin in 1995 — which was Germany’s first step towards reducing CO2 footprint worldwide.
Germany and Lebanon: Political and Economic Relations
The two countries have a history of friendly relations and enjoy polite exchanges. On September 18, 2019, Foreign Minister, Heiko Mass, met Lebanon’s Home Minister, Gebran Bassil, in Berlin. Later, in June 2018, Angela Merkel visited the country. Since the advent of conflict in Syria, Germany has constantly provided support to Syrian refugees in Lebanon and other communities that took shelter in the country.
Motor vehicles and other vehicle components, chemical products, and pharmaceuticals are the main exports from Germany. In 2018, Germany imported goods worth 760 million euros, making it one of Lebanon’s biggest import partners. Besides, Lebanon’s exports to Germany were worth approximately 42 million euros.
Angela Merkel’s Role During the COVID-19 Crisis
Angela Merkel isn’t fond of big speeches and addresses her country once a year through a pre-recorded message on the New Year’s Eve. However, when she decided to inform the nation’s citizens about the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2019, it was the first spontaneous televised speech she had given in almost 15 years of leadership.
Merkel presented the disturbing facts of the outbreak with a dose of compassion and hope. She stated the intricacy she had with the idea of hampering the freedom of movement, but explained the dire need to do so at the moment and got the Germans on her side. It was a great political move for Merkel, which was previously harmed by the huge backlash against her ‘open door’ refugee policy. The backlash led to the collapse of her succession plan, and she immediately announced that she would not be standing up for the next federal election in the fall of 2021.
In 2018, she even stepped down as the leader of her party due to the deterioration of her physical health. However, the scenario changed when the coronavirus hit the world, and Merkel stepped up once again. She started a huge reinforcement, not just in Germany but throughout the world. This is because, for the first time in over 150 years, the entire world was looking up to Merkel and not towards the US for global leadership. This massive revival saved her legacy. When she decided to partially lift Germany’s weeks-long lockdown, people supported her and stood by her side.
“We can afford a bit of compassion and courage. We have to make sure that the crisis does not slip out of our hands. We have left behind the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis, but this is still the beginning and it will be with us for a very long time,” she said.
Germany received global admiration and praise for its tackling of the COVID-19 crisis. It’s not just Merkel’s calm way of handling things that skyrocketed approval ratings to place her at the top. The stats speak for themselves. The death toll in Germany remained relatively low compared to other countries in the world. Moreover, Germany became the poster child for COVID-19 testing.
Moving Ahead
The COVID-19 pandemic has helped Merkel reclaim her international voice and integrity in this crucial hour for her future leadership. For the country’s future, Merkel said that it’s crucial to fight the crisis at hand in order to set the stage for development and be in a state to return to pre-crisis economic levels in 2022.
“We should be careful not to harm too many human lives and hence keep the economy striving,” she added.
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