‘In everything I do, I aim to strengthen democracy’
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is closing in on a fourth term in office.
In the spring, with Merkel absorbing criticism for her support for refugees and with the rival Social Democrats energized by the new leadership of Martin Shultz, it seemed as though Merkel could be defeated.
Now, with less than three weeks to go before the election, Schulz and his party trail badly in the polls. Merkel’s return seems assured.
She recently explained why she is running once again, the implications of the election of Donald Trump and her potential role in the rise of far-right parties in Germany. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Late former Chancellor Helmut Kohl proved unable to relinquish power and missed his opportunity for a dignified retirement. His fourth term in office wasn’t good for the country or the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Are you nevertheless stumbling into the same trap as Kohl?
Until November of last year, I thought extensively about whether I should run again.
In no way did I view the decision as self-evident, and concluded that, to the degree it is possible to determine such a thing, I have the necessary strength and that I am still curious — about people and about how life and the country are changing, and about the challenges that politics present. I think that is decisive, that you don’t think you already know everything. Do you have strategies for preventing hubris and for keeping yourself from getting addicted to power? (Laughing) I read critical articles in the press.
The campaign would have been much livelier if there were more than one televised debate. Why were you against that?
Because the campaign in the media takes place in many different formats, such as in citizens forums or town-hall shows.
And because we don’t have a presidential system in Germany, people vote for parties instead of specific candidates.
From the perspective of smaller parties, even one single televised debate is a detested anomaly, because only the lead candidates from the conservatives and the SPD take part. Your concern for the smaller parties is touching.
The plurality of our campaign formats, including the televised debates, reflect that we in Germany don’t directly vote for a person like in the United States or in France, but for parties. We have a different system. In the U.S., the president shows disdain for the judiciary and for the media — and, more broadly, for democratic values. Is democracy losing momentum around the world?
I hope not. For my part, in everything I do, I aim to strengthen democracy in Germany and beyond. The United States is also a strong democracy. As we are seeing in Poland, for example, and also in Hungary, it is important that we have counterweights in democratic systems, and I believe they are still strong in America. When Barack Obama was here in November, he referred to you as a guarantor of democracy and also as a defender of Western values. But since you have been chancellor, voter turnout has been historically low. How can you explain that?
Happily, recent state elections have seen higher turnout than in previous elections. When people have the impression that an important decision must be made, they go out and vote. And voter turnout in general elections tends to be much higher than in state elections. Ever since you have been chancellor, turnout has stalled. Some say that you have lulled democratic debate to sleep. Do such accusations bother you?
To be more precise, turnout in 1998 was 82.2 per cent, in 2002 it was 79.1 per cent, in 2005 it was 77.7 per cent, in 2009 it was 70.8 per cent and then it climbed again in 2013 to 71.5 per cent. I am predicting that turnout will rise once again this year.
For me, a campaign is the opportunity to present my party’s ideas about our country’s future. In interviews and at campaign appearances, I speak exhaustively about these ideas, about the challenges facing us and about the political solutions we propose. Campaigning is more than just attacking and insulting one’s opponent. People see how quickly the world is changing and that we are facing huge problems and uncertainties. And now they are deciding which parties and which politicians they would like to work with in shaping the future. Helmut Kohl and Franz Josef Strauss, the late governor of Bavaria, didn’t agree on much, but they were united in the belief that German conservatives could not allow a party that was to the right of them on the political spectrum to win seats in German parliament. Now, it looks as though the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is going to do exactly that.
Were you unable or unwilling to prevent that from happening?
I am fighting to ensure that the CDU is as strong as possible. We had huge problems to confront: first coming to terms with the euro crisis and then, in 2015, the admission of the many refugees who came to us. We would now like to use good arguments to win back voters who may have turned away from us during those years. That is what I am trying to do at the many appearances I am making these days. But in the euro crisis and in refugee policy, to name two examples, I took necessary decisions in accordance with our country’s interests — and in accordance with the values that we have invoked in so many speeches and which now had to be lived out concretely. The CDU always said that immigration has to be carefully controlled. Is the rise of the AfD not an inevitable consequence of your policies?
In the summer of 2015, we were faced with an extremely difficult humanitarian situation. I am convinced that our reaction was reasonable and correct. But because the CDU stands for orderly and controlled immigration, we have begun addressing the causes of flight and combating migrant smuggling — and we have taken corresponding measures in the form of the EU-Turkey deal. Do you believe there was ever a moment when you left too much room for the AfD on the right wing of the political spectrum?
No. If you take a look at our domestic security policies, for example, you will see that we have done everything necessary within the framework of our values. Do you see it as a compliment when people say that you are the best Social Democratic chancellor that Germany has ever had?
If I listen to the SPD’s chancellor candidate, it doesn’t seem as though I have earned that title. But seriously: Voters have no use for such categorizations. They rightly expect us to do our work as best as we possibly can. And that is what I am doing.