A definitive new biography of Angela Merkel, a unique figure in German post-war politics as the first woman chancellor and the first from the former communist East A political outsider from the start, Merkel is often regarded as a mystery both in and outside Germany, a misreading that took hold as Europes financial crisis reverberated around the world. Now her decisions and vision for Europe both works in progress are shaping a pivotal moment in the continents history. She has topped Forbes list of the worlds most powerful women for six of the past seven years and was ranked second on the latest list of the most powerful leaders after U.S. President Barack Obama. The book aims to uncover the true Merkel, the influences that contribute to her decision-making and the key moments in her chancellorship that illustrate where she might take Europe and the world if she wins a third term in the fall of 2013. The story of Merkels role in the financial crisis rippling through Europe and the forces that drive her has yet to be written, in English or in German Merkel is seeking re-election in September 2013, so interest in this leader will be at a high This project is a first, putting the leader of Germany in her political and cultural context for a global audience to explain how she sees the world as she remoulds it
Book Details:
- Author: Alan Crawford
- ISBN: 9781118641071
- Year Published: 2013
- Pages: 216
- BISAC: BUS027000, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS/Finance
About the Book and Topic:
A definitive new biography of Angela Merkel, a unique figure in German post-war politics as the first woman chancellor and the first from the former communist East A political outsider from the start, Merkel is often regarded as a mystery both in and outside Germany, a misreading that took hold as Europes financial crisis reverberated around the world. Now her decisions and vision for Europe both works in progress are shaping a pivotal moment in the continents history. She has topped Forbes list of the worlds most powerful women for six of the past seven years and was ranked second on the latest list of the most powerful leaders after U.S. President Barack Obama. The book aims to uncover the true Merkel, the influences that contribute to her decision-making and the key moments in her chancellorship that illustrate where she might take Europe and the world if she wins a third term in the fall of 2013. The story of Merkels role in the financial crisis rippling through Europe and the forces that drive her has yet to be written, in English or in German Merkel is seeking re-election in September 2013, so interest in this leader will be at a high This project is a first, putting the leader of Germany in her political and cultural context for a global audience to explain how she sees the world as she remoulds it
Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel is the main actor formulating Europe’s political response to the financial shocks that spread from Greece after it owned up to a massive hidden debt load in late 2009, an event that raised fears the 17-nation euro currency would collapse and plunge the fragile world economy back into recession. Investors, economists and political analysts hang on her every speech and policy twist as she hones her strategy to defend Europe and save the euro, tackling what has become the single biggest threat to the global economy and the greatest challenge to the European quest for a united continent since World War II. Written off from the start by some in the U.S. and Europe, the survival of the single currency used by 330 million people is the supreme test for Merkel and for Europes global ambitions. Failure is not an option. Yet Germany’s first woman chancellor and its first from the former Communist east is an unconventional leader. The daughter of a Protestant pastor who voluntarily went to preach in East Germany, Merkel is a political outsider. Her decision-making remains a mystery because of her eastern habits such as a reluctance to tip her hand before decisions, a dislike of sound bites and turns of phrase that even Germans find hard to decipher. Abroad, her efforts to engineer a reinvigorated, low-debt euro region are often reduced to wartime stereotypes of German domination. Merkel has a model of her own: she witnessed the meaning of economic collapse when East Germany fell apart and was taken over by West Germany after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 — an experience that may hold the key to her world view. As she pushes a wary Europe to adopt the ways of Germanys highly competitive economy, she will have to prevail over domestic and European resistance and fend off U.S. demands for what amounts to quantitative easing. At the same time, she is viewed by many as a procrastinator, beset by indecision. Merkel is the fulcrum in a clash between European and U.S. economic values, and the euro crisis is the crucible of her chancellorship. Her crisis-fighting effort has dominated her second term and is set to determine whether she wins a third in the fall of 2013. More than that, Merkel’s choices will determine the success of Europe’s experiment to leave war behind, preserve its welfare states and become a peaceful economic power. With Germanys economic might, she has unprecedented power to take Europe in whichever direction she chooses. The jury is out on whether she knows where she is going.
TOPICAL Merkels role in the financial crisis rippling through Europe has yet to be written, in English or in German, even though its impact is felt globally and has permeated down to the front pages of newspapers worldwide. TIMELY Angela seeks re-election around September 2013, so interest in this leader will be at a high. EXPERT AUTHORS Experts in her economic and financial policy, the authors have tracked her every move since she came to power in November 2006. They are uniquely placed to tell the tale of her evolving crisis management and predict where she might be going. The authors also intend showing for the first time how her East German upbringing under a Communist regime, far from being an anomaly, shapes her everyday approach to forging a new Europe. INTERNATIONAL RELEVANCE to all the main geographical markets: Asia, N. America, UK because her policy decision affect the world’s financial centers, from Hong Kong to London to Wall Street. UNIQUE This project is a first, putting the leader of Germany in her political and cultural context for a global audience to explain how she sees the world as she remoulds it. BLOOMBERG PROMOTION will publish under the Bloomberg imprint and be marketed through Bloomberg terminals worldwide as well as global Bloomberg print/online promotions
About the Author
Alan Crawford (Berlin, Germany) joined Bloomberg News as German government editor in January 2006, six weeks after Merkel was sworn in, and steered coverage of her first and second terms as her global importance grew. He lived in Warsaw and Prague after the fall of the Berlin Wall and has reported from across Europe, east and west. He previously worked on The Scotsman and the Sunday Herald in Glasgow and in Edinburgh, covering the Highlands, Scottish and U.K. politics. Tony Czuczka (Berlin, Germany) is an American foreign correspondent who joined Bloomberg News in 2009 as the political writer covering Chancellor Merkel, her re-election and the eruption of the European debt crisis. For the past four years, he has had access granted to only a few foreign reporters, from invitation-only gatherings where Merkel displays rare flashes of humour to global conferences that expose the strains of leadership. He has also worked for The Associated Press in Germany, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Switzerland and New York.