Iron Frau of Germany – Kommersant

Although the image makers of the CDU / CSU conducted a large-scale campaign to improve the perception of Merkel by the population, it was obvious from the very beginning that she had a much worse command of the art of communicating with journalists, and primarily with television people, than Gerhard Schroeder. The Social Democrats skillfully took advantage of Angela Merkel’s refusal to have a second TV duel with the chancellor, accusing the CDU leader of cowardice. In addition, many facts of her biography played against the image of Angela Merkel throughout the campaign. A woman, a Protestant, a native of the eastern lands, divorced and remarried, could not become the personification of conservative values ​​​​in the eyes of the main electorate of the party – Catholic men from the west of Germany

Photo: Reuters / Francois Lenoir