Ursula von der Leyen - the EU chief being savaged across the continent for the bloc s shambolic vaccine roll-out - was parachuted into the job in 2019 after an erratic spell in the German cabinet which saw her labelled the government s weakest minister .
A trained gynaecologist, keen equestrian and mother of seven who once lived in London under a fake name because of terrorist threats against her father in West Germany, von der Leyen followed him into politics and quickly rose up the ranks.
But there were raised eyebrows in Germany when she was vaulted from Berlin s defence ministry into Europe s top job in 2019, with her own coalition partners releasing a dossier accusing her of leaving the German military in a shabby state .
Armin Laschet is no Angela Merkel. He may still win the German chancellorship
The new leader of the Christian Democratic Union has a long way to go yet. But it is worth asking what his programme in government might look like January 19, 2021
Laschet is not an ideal partner for Joe Biden or Boris Johnson. Photo: Michael Kappeler/DPA/PA Images
In 2000, Germany’s CDU party elected Angela Merkel as its leader. It was a surprising choice. Merkel differed from her predecessors in almost every respect: a woman, an Ossi (from East Germany), a scientist, Lutheran, divorced, childless and someone who had never been a minister president of one of Germany’s 16 states. To the amazement of most commentators, and to the dismay of her political rivals, she remained in office as party chairman for 18 years and has served for 15 years as Chancellor.
Northern Editor
Optimism is a useful form of self defence. As brutal 2020 recedes from view, there is a genuine sense of light at the end of the tunnel. And it is not an oncoming train.
North and South we may have a chance, a real chance, to begin again.
First let s deal with Boris. For at least 30 years, probably for longer, he harboured the dream to become British Prime Minister. He hitched his ambition to what was once a rag-bag anti-EU minority. All were uncomfortable with the notion of the UK pooling its sovereignty to become part of a many times more powerful European alliance.
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