Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has just released a memoir that includes memories of handling her relationship with US President-elect Donald Trump during her first term.
In her memoir Freedom: Memories 1954-2021, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel revealed that she sought advice from Pope Francis on how to manage her relationship with Mr Trump, who she said had the win-lose personality of a real estate developer.
Mr. Donald Trump and Mrs. Angela Merkel attend the anniversary event in France in 2018
PHOTO: REUTERS
Reuters quoted an excerpt published in the weekly Die Zeit on November 20 saying that Ms. Merkel spoke about the difficulties in dealing with Mr. Trump. "He sees everything from the perspective of a real estate developer, as he did before entering politics. Each plot of land can only be sold once and if he doesn't get it, someone else will. That's how he sees the world," the former German Chancellor wrote.
Merkel sought Pope Francis' advice on how to deal with someone who had "fundamentally different views" in order to prevent him from withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. The head of the Vatican immediately understood who Merkel was referring to.
“Bend, bend, bend but make sure not to break it,” Pope Francis told Merkel.
G7 leaders at the 2018 Canada summit
PHOTO: AFP
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel (70) was in power from 2005-2021. When Mr. Trump first took office in 2017, Ms. Merkel was already one of Europe's longest-serving and most influential elected leaders. She is recognized for her role in shaping Germany and the European Union's response to the European debt crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, which first began in 2014.
The memoir was written before the US presidential election earlier this month, in which Ms Merkel expressed her "sincere hope" that Vice President Kamala Harris would win.
The memoir will be published in more than 30 countries from November 26. Ms Merkel will attend a book launch event in the US a week later with former US President Barack Obama, with whom she has built a close political relationship.
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