Feature Article

Sphinx in the Reichstag

There is no doubt whatsoever that Angela Merkel's understanding of power goes very deep. She likes it, she knows how to wield it, and she knows how to hold on to it. She would not mind at all if she were declared the most powerful woman in the world.

But what drives her? What makes her tick? These are the questions that many Christians in particular are asking themselves in the run-up to the German elections next month, as Mrs Merkel is also the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, the political party that was so formatively influenced by the "father of modern German democracy", Konrad Adenauer, a committed Catholic.

Adenauer stood for freedom with responsibility, Christian values and clearly elaborated policies. How far are these values embraced by Mrs Merkel, or, to put the question in the way it has been expressed in Germany, what connects her to the "C" in CDU?

The problem is that no one can really say where she stands on the family, say, or what the social market economy is to her. She has frequently spoken out on these issues, of course, but there is an element of imprecision in her statements that looks deliberate and makes it hard to pin her down.

Daughter of a Protestant pastor, Mrs Merkel is obviously the foremost contemporary influence on the party once formed in the image of Adenauer. But there is a striking contrast here. For even viewing the Merkel phenomenon from within the CDU, it is possible to imagine her leading another party. Her words this week (see page 28) testifying to her Christian faith should be seen in the context of the way few have been prepared to "stamp" her unequivocally with that "C", in the way that was so easy under Adenauer, or other CDU leaders such as Rainer Barzel and Helmut Kohl.

The first attributes that come to mind when one thinks of her are that she is pragmatic, aware of her power, clever, determined, cool and self-confident - all this before her Christian faith. The "C" is connected with her but it does not characterise her. She is committed in general terms to "the Christian concept of humanity", but what this means in specific terms is hard to say.

Without doubt, Mrs Merkel shares with former chancellors Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schröder that uncompromising desire for power that is normally a prerequisite for effective leadership. And those close to her know only too well how much the shy and inconspicuous young woman from Eastern Germany learned from Kohl. She has a sense, in particular, of the moment when it is necessary to act decisively, which she did in 1999 when, with a calculation that was almost callous, she propelled herself from the post of CDU general secretary into the position of party leader.

With great precision, she used for her own ends the fact that the reputation of her benefactor, Helmut Kohl, had been tarnished. In a bylined article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung she distanced the CDU from Kohl by orchestrating a conflict between him and CDU chairman Wolfgang Schäuble, and gained for herself the spoils of leadership.

Angela Merkel strove for power from an early age and freely admits it. But her biographers soon notice that she has never really answered the question as to what she wants to do with this power. Her refusal ever to really take a clear stand can be explained by her early experiences. It is said that she learned never to show what she really thought in the former GDR - the Communist dictatorship of East Germany. For more than three decades she had to survive in this atmosphere of fear and lies. In surviving, and indeed doing better than just surviving, she learned how never to show what one really thought, what one really stood for or what inner convictions moved or influenced one. MPs in Berlin and others who know her attribute her notorious distrust of almost everyone to these experiences.

Angela Merkel has no use for ideologies. As has been clear during the economic crisis, she is adept at 180-degree turns, if necessity dictates. Terms such as "social marketing" and even "nationalisation" flow equally smoothly from her lips. She probably corresponds closely to the typical floating voter, capable of changing positions very quickly if need be. In other words, she is not ideological, she is pragmatic.

Naturally, she needs to give her party a Christian-democratic profile, but she is seen by many analysts as a "trained" Christian democrat, with an ability to recognise the popular mood. During the banking crisis, her ethical statements were just what people wanted to hear. She has knowledge of the party's traditional values but is not driven by its inner convictions. So, while her pragmatism has served her well, there is a downside. Mrs Merkel has no power base in her own party, and compensates for this with a trademark "tough charm". And the party respects this: right down to the local branches there is an attitude of submission and fearfulness.

This means that the Merkel "system" is stable only as long as she tops the polls - which is the case now in the run-up to the elections. At some point it will break down because of that missing power base. And that "charming toughness", eventually, will lose its charm.

Contradictoriness is not to her liking. Criticism serves only to increase her suspicion. She has systematically quashed anyone with a liberal-conservative profile - not for ideological reasons but to prevent challenges to her power. Some see her lack of ideology as a strength, arguing that political flexibility is the name of the game today. She wants to solve day-to-day problems. But again there is a danger. Thanks largely to her, many members of her party may one day consider it just another social democratic party, and traditional voters might just stay at home.

There is for the moment a great reservoir of loyalty in the party, but it has already lost many traditional voters. Berlin is unaware of this, because conservative voters usually express their protest through quiet resignation. One day, the CDU will have to face the problem.

Of course Germany's original social democratic party, the SPD, is much weaker today than the CDU, and this is thanks to the cleverness and flexibility of Mrs Merkel. But once the Merkel "added value" no longer attracts people, will it not be said that the sphinx in the chancellery, as she has been called because of her unsurpassed instinct for power, devalued the "C" in CDU and smoothed out her party's distinct profile? Mrs Merkel may stay in power longer than Helmut Kohl, but she cannot afford to dismiss the potential disappointment of those with stronger convictions.

In the present election campaign, Mrs Merkel has found very Catholic words for Catholic audiences. She has praised her fellow German, Pope Benedict XVI, as well as disagreeing with him. The question, however, is how resilient are these sentiments, and will they survive the election in September? Many Catholics are sceptical on this.

They see, for example, that she has no real understanding of freedom. Perhaps as a result of her GDR past, and unlike Adenauer and Kohl, she is not a chancellor for freedom and security. Rather she is a chancellor for equality and security. The so-called anti-discrimination law for which she was responsible is in reality an equality law. An essential part of the "C" in the Christian Democratic Union - the part that understands and protects freedom - is now missing.

She cannot be blamed for this but one can explain it. Adenauer - motivated by Christian responsibility - became a chancellor of freedom in security because of his background. Mrs Merkel is influenced by her different background. Her foreign policy activities are not much more than building up political relations with the powerful of the world. Yet domestically, the health service has not been reformed, nor has the pension system nor the unemployment benefit system. Angela Merkel occasionally likes to speak of the three roots of the CDU, namely Christian-social, conservative and liberal. But a leader of the CDU who tells us on a Sunday-night talk show that she is "sometimes liberal, sometimes conservative and sometimes Christian-social" makes it clear that she has not understood the real identity of her party. One cannot be all those things - at least not as the leader of the CDU. Adenauer and Kohl knew that it wasn't a matter of one or the other but a matter of one and both the others. For Mrs Merkel the party is an instrument that she uses for her own purposes.

Certain questions in this election campaign remain open. What does Angela Merkel stand for? What are her fundamental beliefs? It looks very much as if she will be re-elected. Then these questions will not be of immediate importance. But at some point they will re-surface. Until then, Mrs Merkel must not gamble away the value of a unique political party.