Angela Merkel’s Memoir Explains Modern Germany’s Dilemma
The former chancellor’s early life tells the story of a country at odds with itself.
Illustration: Harol Bustos for Bloomberg
It was a defining image of the Merkel years: the German chancellor leaning across a table at the G7 summit in 2018, looming over Donald Trump as the rest of the world’s leaders looked on. Angela Merkel, the photo seemed to indicate, was the adult in the room.
Yet when Merkel’s autobiography, Freedom, landed in late 2024, the reputation of one of modern Europe’s longest-lasting leaders was languishing. Trumpism had triumphed. European politics were in disarray. Germany was in economic and political distress. Merkel may have walked the world stage with surety, but on the big global issues, from Russia to immigration to China, she had been widely criticized at home and abroad.