Interviews
"Governing is something I enjoy doing"
Wed, 22.11.2006
Photo: REGIERUNGonline / Chaperon
Angela Merkel.
In an interview with the mass circulation tabloid "Bild" Chancellor Angela Merkel answers questions about her first year in office. She talks about what the Grand Coalition has achieved, its plans for the future, as well as personal impressions.
Text of the interview:
Bild: Ms. Chancellor, at the end of his first year in office your predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, summed it up with the words: "Governing is fun." Do you feel the same way?
Merkel: I'll say it in my own words: Yes. Dedicating myself fully to the job of governing is something I enjoy doing.
Bild: You said you would measure your government's success on the basis of its poll ratings. Job approval ratings for the Grand Coalition are currently in the basement. 61 percent of the German population are not satisfied with the job the Grand Coalition is doing. Why are people so disappointed?
Merkel: I think that's a situation snapshot. We have demanded a great deal of people. We have had to put the budget back on an even keel and cutbacks are always painful for those affected. I am also aware that we are placing an additional burden on people's shoulders by raising the VAT rate and by reducing the tax deduction for commuters and the tax allowance on interest from savings.
But as a result of this bundle of measures we will have a solid budget and the lowest level of new borrowing since reunification.
When people start to see positive effects with regard to growth, jobs, and the effort to reduce the size of the public debt, then the polls will return to their normal values. Governing means making policy decisions aimed at making things better in the future.
Bild: Has the distance between the government and the people grown too large?
Merkel: The overall situation is considerably more complicated today than it was, say, twenty years ago. Many people see the struggles we go through in the decision-making process merely as politics and lose interest. They would rather have a decision simply put before them and then see it have a rapid effect. Democracy also requires debate.
Bild: A majority of the people seem to believe that the government is not capable of doing much to change their situation.
Merkel: We can answer them by saying that reforms pay off, including those that were carried out with the support of the conservatives in the past legislative term. It goes without say that a lot remains to be done, particularly with regard to increasing the level of employment in Germany.
Bild: The coalition agreement bears the title: "Working together for Germany". A year later your Vice Chancellor, Franz Müntefering, issued a call to "shout them down". The reference wasn't to the opposition but rather to members of his own party, your coalition partner. Was the original belief in the effectiveness of a Grand Coalition only an illusion?
Merkel: No. This Grand Coalition is working well and we have initiated important projects together. Needless to say, our parties continue to have their own identities and they like to express them, not least of all in the days leading up to a party conference, such as the one the CDU now has ahead of it. The coalition can handle this.
Bild: Tax revenues are up and unemployment is declining. Why aren't these successes being associated with the name Angela Merkel?
Merkel: I think people are taking a wait-and-see attitude. They've heard lots of predictions in recent years that didn't come true. What we need in Germany is a positive trend for a longer period of time. Then people will begin to have confidence again and that will be associated with the work being done by the present government and chancellor.
Bild: You referred to public confidence. Your election promises have not been kept. There should at least be respect for the coalition agreement. It states that non-wage labor costs are to be reduced to below 40 percent. This has not been done.
Merkel: Non-wage labor costs will go down by more than one percent as of January1. That is an initial success for Germany's competitiveness. In 2007 and 2008 we will continue to do everything we can to achieve this target of less than 40 percent. A definitive assessment will be made at the end of the legislative term.
Bild: The reform of minister pensions has yet to be carried out...
Merkel: We'll be putting forward a draft reform bill on this matter before the end of this year.
Bild: One of the reforms passed, the health care reform, is closely associated with your name. Outside of the Chancellery it's seen as a failure.
Merkel: With the growing array of medical options available and an aging population health care costs are bound to rise. The increase in health insurance premiums as of the first of the year is not directly related to the reform that is scheduled to go into effect on April 1.
In general the health care reform has gotten a bad rap. It doesn't impose any new supplementary payments or reduce existing services. What it does do is force health care providers and insurance providers to face considerably more competition. Many of these providers are engaging in irresponsible polemics. But that will not keep us from continuing to pursue our reform objectives.
Bild: Industry had hoped to see an "iron lady" in the Chancellery who would loosen regulations protecting employees against job termination, move forward with bureaucracy reduction, and reform the statutory nursing care insurance scheme. Now the predominant impression is that of a "leaden lady". Do you still stand for major reforms?
Merkel: A sober assessment of the situation would give industry cause to be more than satisfied with this year. A solid budget; the outlines of a corporate tax reform that we will implement as planned; a cabinet decision on inheritance tax reform; an oversight council on bureaucracy reduction; a federalism reform; a small companies act; better tax write-offs; a high-tech strategy for research and innovation.
In addition, we're experiencing the strongest growth we've seen in five years and for the first time in six years we're seeing an increase in the number of jobs with full social security coverage compared with the previous year. That's a respectable outcome. I don't mind being urged on in the same direction, but the government is not there for industry alone. It's there for everyone.
Bild: Angela Merkel continues to be an iron-willed reformer then.
Merkel: I continue to be for reforms, since they are the only way to bring about higher levels of growth and more jobs in Germany over the long term. But for every reform you need majority support. The Grand Coalition has done more in twelve months than other governments managed to do in years.
Bild: Not everyone in your party seems to share your enthusiasm for reform. Jürgen Rüttgers, for instance, wants to outdo the SPD on the left by repealing the decision on unemployment compensation reductions. Isn't he saying what millions of people are thinking?
Merkel: That will only be possible if it doesn't cost us more money. Much of the criticism in this regard is totally exaggerated. The motion for the CDU party conference next week in Dresden addresses the question as to whether or not we should base the period of time people are eligible for unemployment compensation more strongly on the number of years they have worked while remaining within the same financial framework. This has long been the position taken by the CDU.
Motions will also be put forward at the party conference on making job protection regulations more flexible and on corporate alliances for employment, something we have been urging for a long time. There has not been any shift to the left in the CDU. We are and will continue to be a center party.
Bild: Does your coalition partner, the SPD, support Rüttgers' plans?
Merkel: What is involved here is a CDU policy that we will determine on our own. The coalition agreement is the basis for the work done by the government.
Bild: Why is this issue having such a divisive effect in the CDU?
Merkel: There is a debate among some members of our party as to whether the reform decisions the Leipzig party conference took in 2005 were right. In Dresden I will make it very clear that the Leipzig decisions were forward-looking and absolutely necessary for the CDU and that we will need to continue to move in this direction, given the changes that are taking place in the world and the effects these changes are having on Germany.
Bild: Ms. Chancellor, on January 1 Germany will take over the EU presidency and the G8 chair. Will you have any time left over for domestic policy matters?
Merkel: I will devote a great deal of attention to domestic matters. The second year of the legislative term is important; we will be able to initiate entirely new projects.
Bild: What for instance?
Merkel: We have a lot planned. I'll just mention a few areas such as bureaucracy reduction, statutory nursing care insurance, better integration of foreigners, energy supplies, combination-wage schemes, and federalism reform II.
Bild: You also spoke of new projects. Is the coalition agreement sufficient for this or will you need a second agenda?
Merkel: We will work our way through the coalition agreement with regard to domestic issues. But we will also be addressing a few things that are not yet stated in so many words in the agreement. We want to start thinking about a common market for Europe and North America. Some industrial countries are creating obstacles for themselves in global competition. The need for greater harmonization of financial market rules will be a crucial point in this context.
Bild: That sounds like even more globalization. Isn't that what people are afraid of in the first place?
Merkel: Correct, and it is precisely because of this fear that we need to take policy measures aimed at improving general conditions in the context of globalization. This is something Germany cannot do alone; we need the weight of Europe and, in areas where we have the same interests, also the weight of the United States.
We need to base the incomes of workers more strongly on the trends shown by corporate earnings. In recent years wage increases have been very moderate while corporate profits have increased significantly.
At the CDU party conference we will put forward a proposal for "investment wages" that could be of interest to the SPD and possibly a project for the coalition. Part of workers' wages would be based on a share in company profits.
Bild: Ms. Merkel, a year ago you took the oath of office with the optional words "So help me God." How often have you needed his help?
Merkel: This part of the oath of office means for me the recognition that what I am able to do and not able to do is not something that lies in my hands alone. Man is not all-powerful; his capabilities are limited and he must live and act responsibly within these limits.
Bild: A more practical option for the day-to-day business of government was the offer your predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, made to the effect that you could call on him at any time for advice. Did you ever take him up on this?
Merkel: No. We were in touch in connection with the abduction of Susanne Osthoff, but since then we have not talked about anything relating to my office. And if I need advice from a Social Democrat there are others who would gladly oblige me.
Bild: In what way has your office changed you?
Merkel: Every office changes the person who holds it and every year spent in an office of this kind changes you as well. This office has given me an incredible number of new opportunities and insights.
Bild: Did you have any really bad days?
Merkel: The most difficult thing I faced this past year was what took place in connection with the hostage taking of the two men from Leipzig in Iraq, the days when I was unable to do anything to help them, and then the negotiations. It really took a load off my mind when they were finally freed.
Bild: And what were the best days?
Merkel: I was very happy when we resolved the financial dispute in the European Union in December 2005. The fact that we managed to get an agreement on things like lower unemployment contributions and corporate tax reform before the end of the current year gives us strength and courage to continue. All in all this first year was a success for Germany.
Bild: Are you satisfied with your husband's work as "First Man"?
Merkel: First and foremost I'm proud of my husband's work as a scientist. And I'm very happy that we've succeeded in combining my job in government with our normal life.
Bild: Has he noticed any changes in you?
Merkel: The breakfast I make for us is still the same. Needless to say, I have less time for him now. It is important to me and very nice that my husband understands this.
Bild: What book are you planning to read next?
Merkel: I'm looking forward to the Christmas holidays. That's always an opportunity to do some serious reading. I usually get through a long novel, like something by Dostoyevsky, for instance.
Bild: You once said you need an hour a day to think about long-term projects. Do you still have time for this?
Merkel: I'm not able to fit it in every day. But I do take lots of time for this on the weekends. Without it I would just go from appointment to appointment and not be creative enough. It is important in my role as Chancellor that I continue to absorb new things.
Bild: In concluding, a historical question. We now know how narrow your victory was when you were elected Chancellor last year. If Gerhard Schröder had gotten his way, Edmund Stoiber would be sitting in your chair today. Do you consider that to be a macho tale or do men really politick that way?
Merkel: I can't really say anything about that and it's not something that's on my mind. As Chancellor I have to be looking ahead to the future and that's a full-time job...
