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Germany's first female Chancellor
Our "Read My Lips" series presents ten original quotes
made by the featured individual(s) at the time specified in
the answers. However, it is a "virtual" interview only — insofar
as we have added questions in order to provide a better context
to the thoughts expressed. |
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Read My Lips > Global Politics
Angela Merkel Speaks |
By The Globalist
Angela Merkel is Germany's Chancellor and host of the 2007 G-8 summit. She grew up in the formerly communist eastern Germany. |
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| 1. |
What should politicians be working for? |
"The role of politics is to manage competition to make it as efficient as possible — while ensuring that the state is able to support the weakest."
(July 2005)
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"We can only give to the weak if we have the strong who can help them."
(December 2005)
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| 3. |
How do you see relations with the United States? |
"A climate of openness has to exist, an area where one says quite clearly and candidly to one another, 'Well, there we agree, there we disagree."
(January 2006)
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"Europe is the continent of tolerance. Tolerance is a demanding virtue. Yet, in no way must it be confused with arbitrariness and sitting on the fence.
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(January 2007)
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| 5. |
What has shaped your view? |
"Until the age of 35, I only knew the European Union from the outside — and have only been an insider since 1990."
(January 2007)
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| 6. |
What has been the greatest surprise in your life? |
"I had banked on many things, but not on receiving the gift of freedom before my retirement. Once you have been surprised in such a positive way, a lot seems possible."
(December 2005)
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| 7. |
What can Germans learn from that experience? |
"Change is so often associated in Germany with a turn for the worse. People need to see it as an opportunity as well."
(April 2006)
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| 8. |
How would you describe your leadership style? |
"I do not bang my fist on the table. My way is to think, consult — and then decide."
(October 2006)
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| 9. |
Has it served you well? |
"I have been repeatedly underestimated — and it's a role I can live with well."
(May 2006)
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| 10. |
And finally, who is your role model? |
"I have no role model."
(May 2005)
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