Iron Lady II
For those of you who (like me) have never closely followed European politics, this WSJ article, which is linked via a Google search and won't trigger a paywall, is a fascinating summary. I didn't know that Angela Merkel was raised under communism or that she was a research physicist before going into politics. As she was the daughter of a West German Lutheran pastor who was assigned a parish in East Germany, her relationship with communism seems to have been ambivalent. She is a Christian Democrat who is openly skeptical of multi-culti assumptions, whose economic views pass for right-wing free-market enthusiasm in Europe, and who doesn't altogether despise Israel. She's also the Mean Mommy who tells countries with failing economies that they have to do their "Hausaufgabe"--their homework.
Update: This is not a bad thumbnail sketch of the bid-and-asked in the negotiations between Greece and its creditors.
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2 comments:
What struck me about the article, with a skosh of schadenfreude, is that Germany is finding out what it's like to be, like us, on the top of a heap: hated for the success.
One can hope--forlornly--that they'll learn the critical lesson better than we have: that other nations' opinions aren't all that.
Eric Hines
Much as the Democrats tend to do, her individual judgment doesn't matter nearly as much as who holds the minister portfolios in their coalition government.
Kerry is in one admin slot, HRC in another, and Hussein plus his 57 consigliere czars.
The prime minister majority parliament thing has its bonuses.
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