Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who recently resigned as head of government – and in fact, the German leader, given the formal role of the President of Germany – may return to world politics. In any case, according to media reports, she has already received an offer to head one of the UN structures. So far, no response has been received from the former chancellor, and there is no absolute guarantee of her consent: tense 16 years in office and, to put it mildly, a good pension allowance are more likely reasons for a quiet life and, for example, writing memoirs.
The fact that Merkel was offered a new position was reported, citing UN sources, by Deutsche Press Agentur (DPA), the largest German news agency, whose authority makes him listen to his data. According to DPA interlocutors, the letter to the former head of the German government was sent on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. His offer is to chair the Global Public Goods Advisory Council. This is a relatively new structure, actively promoted by the Secretary General as part of the overall UN reform process initiated by him.
Merkel’s invitation did not come as a surprise to those who came across Guterres’ statements about the council in recent years: in particular, he had initially stated that he intended to recruit former world leaders to work in this structure, retired from their national affairs. The body’s mission is to “identify global public goods and other areas of common [worldwide] interest where governance improvements are most urgent.” We are talking about ecology, energy consumption, healthcare – Guterres mentioned the council especially often after the height of the coronavirus pandemic – and other areas that the members of the structure should designate and develop.
At the same time, the brainchild of the UN Secretary General has not yet shown itself clearly, so he is probably counting first on the media effect, which cannot be avoided if such a figure as Merkel stands at the head of the body. Having held the post of Chancellor of Germany for almost 16 years, she proved herself not only as a talented national leader, but also as a far-sighted politician who, in fact, is able to take responsibility for the entire European Union, or, for example, build relatively constructive relations with difficult for the West partners like Russia…
In general, we are talking about a kind of global crisis manager, whose recognizability, competence and experience are clearly enough to implement Guterres’ plans.
Nevertheless, as practice shows, the former federal chancellors of Germany, in principle, do not seek excessive publicity after the resignation. Merkel’s predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, who left the post in 2005, later became chairman of the board of directors of Russia’s largest oil company, but was not very active in this position (in general, she does not assume that).
Helmut Kohl, two years after being chancellor, remained the honorary chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, but was stripped of this title in 2000 due to a scandal about the illegal financing of the CDU. The beginning of the millennium was marked by the publication of his four-part memoirs: the first book is called “My Diary” and covers just the end of the 1990s, the other three – “Memoirs” – are devoted to other periods of the politician’s life. And Helmut Schmidt, who was chancellor before Kohl, retired and participated in the publication of the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” – again without pronounced media and new political ambitions – where he was invited by the editors …
Whether Merkel will accept her invitation is a big question. The ball is on the side of the former chancellor, because although the UN objectively needs it (both within the framework of the council and to raise the overall sagging authority of the organization), it is not a fact that this is a mutual need. Merkel herself, leaving the post of head of government, did not voice her plans to return to big politics in any capacity.
The ex-chancellor also hardly needs additional income – with a relatively modest lifestyle for her position, which has become a byword, she receives a monthly pension of almost 15,000 euros (about 1.3 million rubles), which is due to her by law. Finally, general fatigue may also have an effect: all of Merkel’s terms as chancellor were not without sharp moments, and she, rather, following the example of the same Helmut Kohl, will like writing memoirs about her impressive political career, and not voicing declarations from the UN platform.
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