Former Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel will release a memoir recounting her time in office sometime next year, a great part of which will be dedicated to her role and experiences during the devastating Greek financial crisis, a period she herself has deemed the most difficult point in her career.
Merkel, who was Chancellor from 2005 to 2021, has in the past commented on how she “asked for so much” from Greek citizens, inferring to the three consecutive bail-out memoranda to keep the country inside the Eurozone during the crisis – directly opposing then Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble’s reputable idea of ousting Greece from the zone. Harsh measures were imposed as a result, leading to cuts in pensions, salaries, and public spending in Greece. Many Greeks blamed Merkel for soaring unemployment rates, plummeting living standards, and economic depression.
The former Chancellor defended her position, “I was deeply convinced that we could not have a common currency without a common economic foundation. But it is incredibly hard to see how these requirements affect citizens, as unemployment in Greece soared, people had less money, taxes were increasing, and posters portrayed me as the bad German. It was tough.”
Kerstin Gleba, publisher at Kiepenheuer & Witsch, promises an “exclusive look” into the political life and work of the former chancellor, “an important documentation of contemporary international history,”
Another chapter in her memoir is also likely to cover they unexpected close relationship she developed with former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who served between 2015 and 2019. Despite being ideologically polar opposites, the two developed a trustful relationship that helped them navigate through the crisis.
