The Rise and Hard Fall of Angela Merkel

@williamcfox -exploration of the rise and hard fall of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is stepping down in 2021.

Angela Merkel has dominated European politics for over a decade. However, with populism on the rise, her party suffered a poor result in the 2017 elections. After quarrels in her coalition, she decided to step down as leader of her party. This mini documentary covers her early career, all the way until her 'resignation' speech in late 2018.

★ NOTE ON SOURCING IN CAPTIONS▼▼▼▼▼▼▼

I've added a citation system into my closed captioning. In order to be respectful to the hard of hearing members of this community, I've tried to make this as non-intrusive as possible., so as not to distract from reading.

At the end of a sentence with sourcing, something like this will appear:
"The sky is blue. The ocean is blue (17,89)."
In this example, the 1st number represents the source # from the source list in the description.
The 2nd number represents the page number, if the source is a book.

1. “Angela Merkel: Europe’s most influential leader” by Matthew Qvortrup. 2016
2. “Schroeder falters in TV clash with rival”. The Guardian, Luke Harding. 9.4.2005
3. “Kohls unterschätztes Mädchen” Der Spiegel. 5.30.2005.
4. “Merkel helmut...powerful woman in the world” TRT world. 2018
5. Schroeder Merkel Debate 2005
6. “Becoming Madam Chancellor” by Joyce Marie Mushaben. 2017
7. Der Spiegel, “Ich muß härter werden” 01.03.1994
8. “Chancellor Angela Merkel and her quiet rise to power” DW.
9. “The Actions to which Helmut Kohl Admitted Have Harmed the Party” 12.22.1999 FAZ
10. Elefantenrunde 2005 - Am Wahlabend
11. Angela Merkel: Germany’s shrewd political survivor
12. Angela Merkel, A Chancellor Forged in Crisis by Alan Crawford, Tony Czuczka. 2013

Photo:
Additional photos: www bundeskanzlerin .de/bkin-de/angela-merkel/im-portraet
Merkel 1995 CC3.0: Christian Rommel
Merkel CDU 1995 CC3.0 Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Merkel in Bonn CC3.0 Andreas Bohnenstengel
Merkel Darmstadt 1998 CC4.0 Uebelhacker
Merkel CDU KAS CC3.0 Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Stark für Sachsen-Anhalt. CC3.0 CDU Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Angela Maziere By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1990-0803-017 / Settnik, Bernd / CC-BY-SA 3.0
KAS-Meißen-Bild 2002 CC3.0 Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Music:
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

[williamcfox]

At 14:52 there is a message from me regarding transparency on this channel.
Would like to have honest feedback -> @williamcfox
As always, sources cited in description.

[mangalores-x_x]

"The hard fall"... usually that would imply immediately resigning from all offices, not an ordered transition after becoming one of the longest serving chancellors of germany. Look, I never voted for her and I dislike her party a lot, but the nonsense people spout on the internet is mindbogglingly stupid.

[notroll]

Merkel was elected in 2005 and was last reelected for four years in 2017. If she sits out her last term, she'll stay until 2021 which means 16 years in power.

That's on par with the current record holder Helmut Kohl and is longer than the founding chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Sixteen years is twice the limit an US president can serve nowadays and four years longer than FDR did.

The chancellor of the Fed Rep of Germany earns a salary of roughly 300, 000 Euros a year. That's a pittance compared to what a former chancellor can rake in by selling his memoirs, keynote speeches - or himself altogether (as her predecessor Gerhard Schröder does by working for Gazprom).

So that's what you call a "hard fall"?? Come off it!

[Gallalad]

While we don't agree politically I am glad that you're transparent and fair in your commentary and I respect that immensely

[-Foxer-]

“She just sticks around”. So true of pretty much all neo-liberal or “establishment” politicians. Merkel, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi. The centrists we have here in Sweden. No solutions, no excitement and often times really low approval ratings. But they still stick around somehow.

[willtopower]

Unfortunately the damage has already been done in Germany.

[Ettenbuettel]

She never solved a problem. I`m german and I think she did the most damage. But her tactic was very succesful, kick all competitors out and be in touch with media to get a good reputation. It`s just sad to see how those cheap tricks become great success. I was glad to hear about that she will never stand as a canditate again and leave politic but the damage is already done. Weak infrastructur, weak german community, weak labour market and so on. We are nothing but a shadow from our past.

[TheSquarecow]

By moving her (originally center-right) CDU more towards the left, Angela has weakend the already fractured left parties (SPD, Green, Left etc.) to the point that a left-only government has become pretty much impossible. But it has also alienated a lot of her own conservative voter base, substantially weakening her own CDU and allowing the rise of the right-wing AfD.
This makes creating an actual government very hard, because while her party still has the relative majority of votes, it's far from an absolute majority and has to rely on a coalition government with two or more(!) fractured left-ish parties who can't agree on anything, the parties she helped weaken in the first place.
Over the last four decades, germany has moved from a 2 1/2 party-state (CDU, SPD, tiny FDP) to a 6 1/2 party state (CDU, CSU, SDP, FDP, Green, Left, AfD).

[dutchman]

Any publication about Angela Merkel without the words: "Wir schaffen das!" must be rubbish.
And it is.
I do not support her, nor her politics, but this is close to total nonsense.
She is reliable, and stable, for a CDU politician very liberal and tolerant, a blessing for a recovering Germany.
Internationally a good partner, that has put Germany back on the map in a respectable way.
Stepping down to make a smooth transfer possible, in not a fall, but wisdom and a sign of true power.

[TheAlderFalder]

This may sound strange, but if I had to choose between an influx of over 2 million muslims into my country or Fukushima, I would choose Fukushima.

[zewwibot]

This is great. The way you build your videos up is masterful. You bring in Hurricane Katrina in the beginning and we see references to it throughout the video, but only at the very end do we realize what you meant. That tingling question in your head throughout the entire video: "how is that relevant, how is he going to tie that in, " you create that tension that shows you're a great video producer.

[johnnybadboy]

How is the camera moving as your head is? Are you wearing a GoPro and looking at a mirror?

[noaoah]

"Hard fall" is a huge understatement, and frankly is an insult. Merkel, despite rising populism and neo-nazism, she is still very popular in Germany and the world. Though she isn't taken as seriously as she once was, her "fall", is not a fall, it is a retirement, an end to a long, and stable political career.

[williamcfox]

"What hard fall?" This seems to be a common criticism in many comments. I think the objection is thoughtful and valid, but I disagree.
Commenters are correct to point out that the procedure of announcing her departure has been dignified, and of course Merkel has had a long and successful career.
That said, her party suffered it's worst electoral defeat since 1949. She was used as a punching bag by her sister party in the bavarian regional elections. She was put out to pasture by her own coalition after they decided they couldn't hold the line against the tide of nationalism/populism with her in the picture.
And her chosen successor barely squeaked in to be party chair.

Her last few years haven't been pretty. That's the "hard fall" as I see it.

[steppib.]

The rise and fall of a dangerous narcissist 😶

[iancypes]

Does anyone really think it's a coincidence that her "retirement" as chancellor coincides with Junkers retirement as EU Commission president?

[corentinc.]

This is not: "the rise and fall of Angela". She just did what the most powerful people asked her to do and now she's done with it. This is why she takes a step back: she fulfilled her mission.

Source: Kallergi plan

[Ωζ]

I am surprised that this video has only around 200 dislikes, given the topic. Really great video William, keep it up

[MrNicoJac]

Hi Will, here's my two cents on sponsorships:
Don't shove anything down our throats. But do recommend us stuff you genuinely feel can be helpful for a portion of your audience.
All you need to do is say "hey, this company exists. this is what they do. this is why I like them. if you think they're offering something that'll interest you, here is a sponsor link you can use"
That way, you can make money, we can make our own decisions, the sponsors get sustainable and genuine traffic, and everyone respects the other as people, not piggy banks.
I hope others agree with my view, on this balance between funding and transparency, and it'll help your thinking as you find your way to a funding strategy that works for you.

Keep it up, love the channel, keep you eye on your long term goals, and kick that master's butt!! <3

[Espingol]

Looking forward to seeing her leave the chancellorship