Former German Chancellor Merkel defends controversial decisions at book launch

(CLO) Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel championed her policies on refugees, Russia, and the economy when she launched her new memoir in Berlin. Critics argue that the more than 700-page book offers little new information.

Angela Merkel, the longest-serving Chancellor of unified Germany, returned on the evening of November 26th to the Deutsches Theatre in Berlin to promote her memoir "Freedom: Memoirs 1954 - 2021".

On stage, Merkel had the opportunity to defend her controversial decisions. When pressed to respond to criticisms that she had been soft on Russia in exchange for cheap natural gas, and that she had done too little to address climate change, she countered that many of those things were not entirely within her control.

She also rejected accusations that she had "pushed Germany toward destruction" by focusing on saving money instead of investing in areas such as aging infrastructure, notably the struggling national rail service Deutsche Bahn.

Merkel has also been questioned about her 2015 decision not to apply certain European Union regulations requiring refugees to be processed in the first EU country they arrive in, instead publicly welcoming asylum seekers from countries such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

She said: "The alternative solution is to drive them away from the German border, perhaps by force, which, to me, is far worse."

Photo: AP

As in her memoir, former Chancellor Angela Merkel largely avoided answering questions about whether she was too lenient with Russia, particularly after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, in order to buy cheap fuel for Germany.

Analysts argue that despite its 740-page length, the book offers little in-depth self-reflection and reveals virtually no new information.

The book also appears quite mild on certain topics, such as religion. Despite being the daughter of a pastor, Merkel doesn't speak much about her Christian faith. She only mentions Islam a few times, mostly in relation to extremism and terrorism. Non-Western world leaders, such as Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, and Hu Jintao, are also hardly mentioned in detail.

During the book launch, she did not answer questions from the audience. However, at the end of the event, she admitted that she left when Germany was still not perfect in terms of climate protection and digital transformation.

Next, the former German Chancellor will travel to other major cities in Europe to promote the book and then will go to Washington, where she is expected to receive support from Obama.

Ngoc Anh (according to DW)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/cuu-thu-tuong-duc-merkel-bao-ve-nhung-quyet-dinh-gay-tranh-cai-tai-buoi-ra-mat-sach-post323124.html