Ex-chancellor Merkel's new book leaves Germans with more questions than answers
Former German leader **Angela Merkel** released her long-awaited memoir last month‚ but the 700-page book doesnt reveal much new info. Her stance on Russia and key policy choices remain unclear even after reading through detailed accounts
About 3 years ago Angela Merkel ended her time as German leader (which many thought would be hard to get used to) Just weeks after her exit Vladimir Putin started the Ukraine war which made people look at her choices differently
The ex-chancellors new book “Freedom“ came out last month in many languages but its not what readers hoped for. The 700-page text gives basic info about meetings with world-leaders but skips deep explanations; most TV interviews dont show anything new either
Her writing about Putin is quite simple - she talks about his love for German beer and how he makes people wait (which shows his need for attention). The book describes some well-known stories like Putins dog meeting but doesnt add any fresh details. Merkel writes that even though she knew Putin was lying and didnt like democracy she still thought trade would make things better
The books economic parts are super-short too. Important stuff like Germanys digital problems poor car industry choices and too much China trade get little space. However when talking about the refugee situation in 2015 Merkel explains more:
With hindsight I still believe in spite of everything I was right to make a point to the end of my tenure of preserving our contact with Russia
The most interesting stuff comes from her early days - how a quiet East German scientist got to the top job. But overall its like shes holding back even now: using simple words keeping things basic and not showing much feeling about any topic
