Maggie Merkel - the new Thatcher?

This (not online) comes from Bret Stephens in The Wall Street Journal:

"When Chancellor Angela Merkel began her keynote address to the World Economic Forum, her first reference was to the 18th century philosopher from Koenigsberg, Immanuel Kant. Yet despite a Teutonic speaking style, Mrs. Merkel delivered the most American of speeches. I lost count of the number of times she used the word "freedom" sometime after the 10th reference. And that's to say nothing of her statement that "Christian values" were the foundation stone of her politics. No wonder George W. Bush likes this lady.

"Increasing freedom has always led to improvements in Germany," she said, citing the great free-market guru (and architcect of West Germany's postwar economic boom) Ludwig Erhard. She railed against the heavy hand of German bureaucracy on German innovation and entreprenuership. Computers were a German invention yet where, she asked, was the German equivalent to a Microsoft or a Google? She described German unemployment, which has hovered around 10% for more than a decade, as "terrifying." She was equally scathing of the political environment she's inherited. "We are paralysed by events and situations and don't seem to be able to overcome this," said Mrs. Merkel. "Each rule and regulation has a political lobby associated with it," she said, calling Germany's problems "self-inflicted."   On the solution side, Mrs. Merkel was clear in direction, if not in details. "We have to open the windows, breathe deeply the fresh air and see the opportunities rather than the risks and hazards," she said. Germany "must become more flexible, develop better benchmarking, become less rigid in its laws and above all tackle bureaucracy." She called for a "viable" tax system and reduced labor costs. She also urged free trade, lamenting the failure of the WTO talks in Hong Kong (thanks to French obstruction). The chancellor referred to Britain as a role model for economic reform, reminding her audience why she's known as "Maggie" Merkel."

This from BusinessWeek:

"Merkel's Davos performance was only the latest in a series of coups for the Chancellor. Since she was chosen in November to lead a coalition government of her Christian Democrats and the center-left Social Democrats, Merkel has repaired relations with the U.S., strained by the Iraq war. She also has displayed a new toughness toward Russia by visiting human-rights groups during a trip in January to see Russian President Vladimir Putin."

This from The Australian:

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised a free-market revolution in Europe's biggest and most troubled economy, dismantling the mass of regulations that have been built up over recent decades.  She said Germany must follow the economic policies of Britain, earning loud applause from the audience of leading capitalists at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.  Using language almost identical to that used by Margaret Thatcher when she was the British prime minister, the centre-right leader mapped out a U-turn in her country's treasured social model, repeatedly emphasising that Germans must stop fearing the world, embrace freedom and learn to take responsibility for their own lives instead of looking to the state. She said that rules introduced by previous governments to protect workers were strangling initiative, and had led to "terrifyingly high unemployment".

And the FT:

"Angela Merkel, the new German chancellor, enjoys higher approval ratings than her two predecessors ever achieved - and an important factor is the rebounding economy. The latest Ifo business climate survey shows that Germany has become an economy oozing with confidence, with the index back to levels last seen in 1999-2000."

Comments

[malcolm]

Words are cheap! I would be amazed if Merkel does much to dump the Franco/German 'Social Model' approach to economics in the coming months.I would be delighted if I'm wrong.

[Andy Peterkin]

Confusing christian democrats with conservatives is something we've been doing wrong for some time in our dealings with the European right.

[Account Deleted]

I hope that Angela Merkel can carry through on these words. I fear that she will not be able to.

I find the mindset of the French and German's quite appalling.

How on earth having mass unemployment year after year after year after year after year be thought of (and described) as socially just?

If you are going to have social democracy, (which is not what I'd propose), then at least do it properly like Scandanavia.

[James Maskell]

Angela Merkel reminds me of a candidate for the Headmaster position at my local FE College back in 2003. She has that nanny/old primary schoolteacher look. How wrong would that assumption be... As said before, it would be something but does she have the cahunas to do it?

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

I like to judge politicians by the company they keep. Give me Merkel over Schroeder (too chummy with Chirac and pally with Putin by half if you ask me) any day of the week.

[johnC]

How ironic that Thatcherism is making a comeback with rightwing governments in Canada and Germany just as it is being dumped by the Conservative party in the UK.

[RobC]

For everyone's sake I hope Merkel is not the 'New Thatcher'. The German economy, society and the world in general is a very different place to Britain in the late 70's and 80's.

Life's moved on, Cameron's moved on, Thatcherism is the past not the future, and I wish centre right politics could be discussed without constant reference to a PM from 15 years ago.

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

"I wish centre right politics could be discussed without constant reference to a PM from 15 years ago."

Absolutely. Churchill must be spinning in his grave.

[johnC]

"the world in general is a very different place to Britain in the late 70's"

Really ? We have a Labour government overtaxing and overspending, ministers look tired and out of touch, quangos and local government are booming with useless jobs,
and the economy is heading for the skids. It all looks depressingly familiar to me. The only difference this time is that we lack a dynamic and visionary opposition.

[tory activist]

"I wish centre right politics could be discussed without constant reference to a PM from 15 years ago."

Nostalgia is the price we pay for failing to get our act together. If our party had enjoyed a leader who was a success since then, nostalgia would not arise but instead we have had four failures.

[Selsdon Man]

If she is serious, she should lead her party out of the EPP and form a new group with our party - except that she opposes our planned split.

[RobC]

JohnC

I think that the economy now is nothing like the 1970's. As much as dislike Brown the economy since Labour has been in power is far better than in the late 70's. Without researching the exact detail, from my recollection inflation, interest rates, unemployemnt, union power are much lower now than then.

I stand to be corrected by anyone whose study of econmics is more recent than mine.

[Goldie]

It's all talk, but at least, unlike the Boy King's, it's the kind of talk we conservatives can appreciate.

[John Hustings]

"Life's moved on, Cameron's moved on, Thatcherism is the past not the future, and I wish centre right politics could be discussed without constant reference to a PM from 15 years ago."

I'd like to know what you understand by the term "Thatcherism".

[William Norton]

Ah, but where does Merkel stand on the Radio Four UK Theme, eh?

[Selsdon Man]

Merkel has to deliver real change before she can be compared to Thatcher.