As an academic I always have to invent new ways to stimulate the minds of students. As personalities always matter in politics, I thought that it would be interesting to mention to students the idea of different leadership styles.
As the discussion evolved, I asked students to compare and contrast different leaders, in order to see commonalities and differences, and then to present their findings. One of these presentations focused on the Merkel -Thatcher way of leadership.
I know that some of you may have objections regarding this particular exercise. Besides, the time and conditions of the reign of these two personalities differ considerably. Still, there are certain striking similarities that are worth mentioning. Some of them follow.
Both Thatcher and Merkel started out as nice, caring, smiling ladies and ended up being butchers of the welfare state. They both implemented (or are about to) major budget cuts and became responsible for rising levels of unemployment.
They are both neo-liberal, big business friendly and pro-market. They followed the path of ‘cuts for the many, benefits for the few’. Both demonised the poor and the unemployed. Merkel targeted poor kids benefits (Hartz IV) –although her attack on the welfare state was milder to that of Thatcher. Thatcher got the free milk out from schools and cut down public funding drastically. In the meantime, fat cats were left free to earn as much as they wished. Brokers were encouraged to speculate on financial products that brought the demise of the financial system.
By attacking social benefits and welfare in general, the two “Iron Ladies” became social consensus breakers, thus marking a new phase in the political scene of their respective countries. However, in the case of Germany one has to admit that many of Merkel’s current policies were initiated by the former Red-Green coalition.
Former UK Prime Minister Edward Heath could never understand how it was that Margaret Thatcher that was elected as Tory leader. It also seems that Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt have their own objections to Merkel’s handling of European and financial affairs.
Thatcher and Merkel both played with populist tabloid instincts – although Merkel is a latecomer in this game. Thatcher nurtured the obsessions of the tabloid newspapers by attacking weak sections of society, trade unions, homosexuals and the so-called “loony left”. It seems that Merkel takes a similar path against the welfare state, although in a milder sort of way.
Nevertheless, Greece was another victim of the Merkel attack, as the German Chancellor demonised a country of the South (which only accounts for 2% of the GDP of the Eurozone) for all the evils of the current financial system. It seemed that Greece became the scapegoat for all the problems of Germany, Europe and the world.
Neither Thatcher nor Merkel is renowned for their diplomatic manners.
The actions of the two can be seen as an exercise in Euro-cautiousness. Merkel adopted the Thatcher style of the stubborn “No, no, no” in the negotiations for a European Financial Stability Fund. Thatcher preferred to have a special relationship with the USA rather than invest in a strong UK-EU relationship.
Merkel did not boycott the EU in the way Thatcher did. Still, she has not managed to create strong relations with other European leaders. She failed to cooperate with her European partners when it was necessary, thus allowing the financial crisis to snowball to the proportions of an avalanche. Her snobbery toward the EU came at a high cost, as her actions undermined the stability of the Euro.
It is worth mentioning that neither of the two women managed to maintain a good working relationship with France.
Thatcher was seen as pro-militarist. She even led the UK to war with Argentina over the Falklands. Although Merkel did not support the US’s Iraq invasion, she declared herself in favour of further involvement of German troops in Afghanistan. Germany became one of the major troop contributors to Afghanistan, although protests in German society are still strong on this issue.
Another similarity with Thatcher is that Merkel adopts a patronising style of politics – only she seems to know what is good. Their failure to take into account social sensitivities and intellectual analyses seems to be a common point of weakness.
What about the results of the Thatcher/Merkel policies? The British Prime Minister left us with a “Reaganised” world, the German Chancellor left us with a “Merkelised Europe”, as a fellow EUobserver blogger recently mentioned.
We have seen the disastrous results of Thatcherism. Now we are living through a revival of Thatcherism under the reign of Angela Merkel. The image of a leaderless, weak and socially drained Europe is gradually being consolidated in the minds of its citizens and the citizens of the whole world.
Everybody hoped that having a common currency would lead to united action against speculation. It did not happen, though – and Merkel is much to blame for that. Another opportunity was lost, another “hour of Europe” has not come. And how bored a political scientist becomes by recounting the same Euro failures again and again over the years! It seems that very little changes in Euroland.
One may (grotesquely) argue that it was in Thatcher’s interest to maintain a weak Europe. She had a privileged partnership with the USA and a good personal relationship with Ronald Reagan.
US-UK cooperation in the financial field was and remains strong. Under Thatcher, London became a hub of US financial interests. The Pound is a matter of UK national pride. There was never any great interest in joining a common currency. Nor there was a tradition of confederalism that could serve as a European model of organisation.
But what did Germany win by the weakening of the EU and the Euro? The answer is nothing.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Merkel, now that she is becoming a bit of an electoral liability. Thatcher left politics in a disgraced manner as her own party staged a coup d’état against her leadership. Will Merkel end her political career this way too?
#1 by Greek taxpayer on July 8, 2010 - 5:06 pm
Wow, how stimulating and original, asking students to compare leadership styles. I bet no other political science lecturer has ever thought of that! Yeah, Thatcher and Merkel are both women so there must be lots of similarities there! You should try and get your students to compare the leadership styles of, say, Aleka Papariga and Antonis Samaras. Despite one being a communist and the other a right-wing populist, there are many similarities between the drivel they spout about the Greek economy – much of their philosophy being reflected in your article.
Aside from that, however, reading this article by Vasilis Margaras, supposedly an academic, is extremely revealing as to why the Greek economy is in the utterly rubbish condition it is in. Vasilis, it’s not Merkel who has undermined the euro and led it to the brink – it’s Greece. If the correct economic foundations had been put in place for the euro, then Greece would never have joined. That was the mistake that the rest of the EU made, accepting Greece into the eurozone.
Moreover, it’s not Merkel who is destroying the Greek “welfare state”, but the Greek “welfare state” itself that has self-imploded. The measures that are now being taken by the Greek government are vital and essential, and the situation in the Greek “welfare state” up till now has been scandalous. And it is not Merkel who has pushed through these reforms – Greece was about to go bankrupt and this is the only way to stop the country from falling into the abyss. Moreover, these reforms will make the Greek welfare state a properly functioning one, and clean up the Greek economy, so that Greece can fund its own properly-organised welfare state and not have to borrow from the banks or expect German taxpayers to give their hard-earned money to pay for Greeks to retire at the age of 55.
But, of course, it is not just Greece that needs to push through reforms, many other European countries do too, and it’s at least reassuring to see that all European governments (except, perhaps, the new Hungarian one, although they’ve only embarrassed themselves on the world stage to so far) and the EU Commission are also advocating these necessary reforms.
#2 by Greek taxpayer on July 8, 2010 - 5:08 pm
P.S. Vasilis, I note you are a “Local Government Consultant for Greek Regions”. Please could you outline for us how the Greek regions have spent the huge sums of money given to them by the EU over the past 30 years? Because I know of several situations where, let’s say, the money has simply been “wasted”. Thanks in advance.
#3 by Anonymous on July 9, 2010 - 10:33 am
Shame on you Vasilis. Blaming Merkel for what is entirely your own (Greek) fault!
No wonder Greece is in such a condition having such reckless intellectuals.
#4 by Maria on July 9, 2010 - 2:57 pm
So when it comes to supporting the war in Afghanistan, Merkel is a bad leader not listening to its people, but when it came to supporting Greece Merkel should have stormed over the opinion of the vast majority of Germans without giving a toss??? Now that’s what I call double standards and nope I am not really that pro-Merkel either but your line of argumentation is lacking substance.
#5 by bretagnethteaparty on July 10, 2010 - 2:15 pm
this post is simply not serious. just a lot of collectivist self-delusion and outright lies. nous sommes tous des allemands Vasilis! and we like the German Iron lady! why should the German or the French taxpayers, or any other nation pay for years of greek profiglacy and corruption! Furthmore this bail-out is illegal and will not save Greece. Attacking Thatcher who incidentally saved British public finance when she came to power is simply ridiculous… Accusing Merkel of killing the Euro must be the height of hypocricy. Anyone writing such collectivist nonsense ought NOT to do consultancy.The latter is not the cause of the Euro’s woes, Greece is. the problem is also systemic to the EU. The unsustainable welfare state is dragging the EU down the path to serfdom (Vasilis read Hayek urgently). I am grateful for the long and cogent analysis by the \greektaxpayer\.
#6 by Jonas on July 10, 2010 - 7:33 pm
Vasilis you are right. Merkel is proving to be a disaster and that’s a reality. It seems that there are too many CDU supporters here…and indeed, some of her policies ressemble to those of Margaret Thatcher.
And who says that Margaret Thatcher was good?
#7 by Julius on July 11, 2010 - 2:39 am
it is understandable where your article comes from: frustration about how bad the own country felt treated by someone saying not to bail you out for your home-made problems right away.
But from a political scientist I would have expected a bit more research before publishing such a week and factually wrong comparison of Thatcher and Merkel.
Many Germans expected Merkel to cut the wrong bits of the welfare state (which she was elected together with the liberals for), but she did not start any big initiative in that respect in the last two years (Peter Hartz headed a commission set up by Social Democrats and Greens and the resulting “Hartz IV” was part of Gerhard Schroeders 2010 agenda), also Merkel is not at all known for tabloid insticts especially not against the welfare state (only for being disciplined on bailing out Greece).
The one thing she is positively known for are her good diplomatic instincts (which you deny by being obsessed with the comparison).
If you would give this essay in in a course of university and I would be your teacher, I would let it fail for being badly researched and weakly argued. In addition to that I would question the originallity of the comparison with Thatcher, which is as old as Merkel first becoming chancellor.
Since Merkel became the friendly broker of European diplomacy in her first term and since in interior policies she showed neither idiology nor any concept for reforms, serious media and academia stopped compared comparing the too.
Sorry for Merkel having for once been a little bit tough (for a short time), but please don’t risk your academic credibility for a moment of emotion.
#8 by Irishtimes on July 12, 2010 - 1:44 pm
Thatcher being known for her diplomatic instincts? I really dont think so….she has been very slow in reacting to events and also very inward looking….I think that Germany has lost much of its former European credibility with her…
#9 by Felix on July 14, 2010 - 10:15 pm
No responsible government would provide milk to students. A responsible government would reduce wasteful spending and cut taxes so the parents can have more money in their pockets and avafford to buy milk or whatever else they need for their children.
“Thatcher was seen as pro-militarist. She even led the UK to war with Argentina over the Falklands”. Are you that ignorant? Argentina initiated the conflict, Thatcher merely responded to protect their occupied land.
The Deutsche Mark was a strong currency because of the policies of the West Germany. Angela’s policies are not that far off to what made DM the most respected currency in post WWII Europe. The Greek Drachma was worthless piece of paper because of the policies of all Greek parties, supported by the Greek people.
Merkel is teaching Europe and wasteful socialists a lesson and she is rightfully so. What lesson can Greece teach: how to lie and spend other people’s money, then kill pregnant women when “the liquor store refuses to sell more to a bankrupt alcoholic”? (this is an analogy, you know? – I am not implying anybody being alcoholic)
Felix from Texas, a US state not bankrupt unlike Socialistan (aka California).
#10 by Ghost on July 15, 2010 - 2:58 am
Liar! Mr. Vasilis, I have no other choice that to call you a liar spreading lies: the German unemployment decreased significantly in 5 years under Angela Merkel, yet you claim the contrary and blame her based on your lie!
Here is what you say:
“They both implemented (or are about to) major budget cuts and became responsible for rising levels of unemployment.”
And this is what the German Federal Labor Office say about German Unemployment: http://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2009/8/30/saupload_unemployment.png
What kind of academic are you, who does not check the real facts before making statements? It took me 5 minutes to Google this fact, then antoher 2 to double-check it.
How that EUObserver allow you write Stalinist-type of public outcries about people based on lies? Ah, I forgot, you a Greek. That explains the lies!
P.S. Double check of German unemployment: http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/economic-calendar/emu-economic-indicators/2009-01-26.html
#11 by Marcel on July 18, 2010 - 3:52 am
Thatcher is one of the greatest leaders the UK has ever seen. She broke the back of the obsolete mining industry and prevented the UK taxpayers from having to prop it up with increasing moneys.
She failed to cooperate with her European partners when it was necessary, thus allowing the financial crisis to snowball to the proportions of an avalanche. Her snobbery toward the EU came at a high cost, as her actions undermined the stability of the Euro.
You are probably an arrogant elitist who hates democracy and loves the EU. The Euro increased the crisis and you democracy hating EU-philes just expect Germany to pay for all the EU’s problem.
How dare Germany refuse to pay the Greek debt, eh? How dare Merkel stand up for the interests of those who elected her rather than doing what EU-philes and the unelected crowd in Brussels want?
The euro was never stable to begin with, and is unwanted by the people, the best solution would be to abolish it. But bankers, their political friends and democracy hating EU-types won’t let us.
@greek taxpayer:
got an answer yet? I didn’t think so. You see, there are people like you and me who are expected to pay tax by the political and EU elites, but we ought not to demand democracy and transparency. The unelected EU elites know whats best for us, after all… right Vassilis?
#12 by Greek taxpayer on July 21, 2010 - 5:15 pm
Marcel, I’m actually a strong enthusiast of the EU and believe that the funds that are distributed are very important. Membership of the EU has done some amazing positive things for Greece and the continent as a whole. Which is a shame when things descend to the level of grand waste as in Greece. It’s not that money is stolen, more that there are grand projects that cannot be implemented properly because of a low level of skills and major incompetence. The idea that you just sit there and the EU will give you lots of money – which Vasilis advocates – is part of what has led to/cemented such low standards in Greece.
This links in to the “solidarity” concept, whereby, as it seems in Vasilis’ definition, any individual country can be as profligate, wasteful, incompetent, stupid and untruthful as it wants (e.g. Greece) and, when it gets to the point of almost destroying the economy of the entire eurozone as a result, the rest of the EU (and, to be honest, by “EU” here everyone really means Germany) is expected to throw hundreds of billions of euros at it in the name of “solidarity”. According to Vasilis, because Merkel refused to do this she is supposedly undermining the EU and the euro!
You hear such “solidarity” arguments in Greece and grand claims about how the eurozone should be set up on “proper foundations” (i.e. Germany should pay for everything if Greece messes up), as if Greece were the main country driving the EU and the euro. Of course, we have now seen that there were some flaws in the establishment of the eurozone, mainly in being too flexible with the criteria for joining. If the euro had been established on very thorough foundations, Greece would not have been permitted to join. Instead, it would have been obliged to restructure its economy to function properly, and then be allowed to join. All the reforms that are taking place now in a rush should have happened a decade ago at least.
Having just re-read Vasilis’ article I am even more struck by how simple-minded, almost xenophobic, bigoted, crude and horrible it is. The attitudes expressed in it typify much of what is wrong with Greece and why the country has got itself in the situation it is today. Especially horrible is the idea that “we’re a wonderful, plucky, noble people, but all these nasty outsiders are being nasty when they should just give us more”. It’s just an excuse for carrying on in the same destructive, rotting, selfish, backward-looking way as before.
By the way Vasilis, you (ridiculously in my opinion) write: “But what did Germany win by the weakening of the EU and the Euro? The answer is nothing.” Aside from the fact that if the EU and the euro have been weakened it is certainly not by Germany (take a look in the mirror, Vasilis!), if we’re honest the weakening of the euro has actually been good for the eurozone. It’s certainly helped German exports. In fact, it could be argued that the euro was unrealistically high against the dollar, as anyone who visited the US from Europe could vouch for (things were ever so cheap for us EU holidaymakers in the past few years).
A lower euro is actually good for eurozone exports. Now, if Greece actually had any kind of industry and produced goods or had any desirable services to sell, Vasilis would be able to see just what an advantage this is for Greek exports. But, since Greece doesn’t really export anything, Vasilis can’t see this (nor does he realise that maybe Greece’s problems are more to do with the fact it produces very little than Merkel’s attempts to make Greece behave more like the very efficient and productive German economy).
#13 by Anonymous on July 23, 2010 - 2:43 pm
If only the majority of Greeks were like the previous commentator..
#14 by Ana on August 4, 2010 - 4:04 pm
Go on….throw your poison to all of us who are sceptical regarding Merkel’s inward looking policies….
It must be really great having Greece as a scapegoat for all the evils of the world.
I imagine it is part of history….sometime ago it was the Jews and the Homosexuals…will you now put all Greeks in a concentration camp?
#15 by Greek taxpayer on August 5, 2010 - 2:00 pm
Of course, you’re right Ana, Greece is not to blame for the current disastrous mess it’s in, it’s all Merkel’s fault. Any criticism of Greece is equivalent to being a Nazi.
Greece is not being treated like the scapegoat for all the evils of the world, it’s simply being asked to take responsibility for its own evils, for a change. But, for some like Vasilis and Ana Greece doesn’t need to be responsible for itself, Merkel should do it all, and if she doesn’t, well, she’s a nasty, nasty anti-European!
#16 by John on August 5, 2010 - 9:04 pm
Vasilis is not the only one to think that Merkel’s policies ressemble to those of Thatcher. You can also check the following article in the Financial Times, called ‘Merkel has joined Thatcher in Europe’s corner shop’
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/90cd10f8-69c1-11df-8432-00144feab49a.html
There are plenty of articles on this tune in various newspapers.
Vasilis takes a more progressive point of view. This is his own opinion and who can blame him for this? Even Germans seem to be disappointed with the current CDU-FDP coalition.
The issue of Greece is minor in Vasilis’s article as the author gives a lot of examples on various other policies.
Most commentators of this article just throw venom on the author without really making any counter arguments regarding the text. I agree with Ana that they seem more biased against the author and his country rather than regarding the arguments he presents!
#17 by Greek taxpayer on August 18, 2010 - 7:49 pm
We have made many highly effective counter-arguments to Vasilis’ baby ones, John, just that you can’t comprehend them. The most effective one, however, is the garbage that is the Greek economy. Although Vasilis doesn’t seem to think it needs reforming, dismissing any faults with it as being due to nasty people like Merkel and not the Greek society that produces it. Oh, and John, I know Vasilis is not the only one who makes the comparison between Thatcher and Merkel, that’s why I was ironic about it. If you think about it, though, there may be an element of sexism to this “comparison” – they are both women, they must be the same!
As for venom on Vasilis and “his country”, what’s his diatribe against Merkel if not venom? And if you agree with Ana that criticism of Vasilis and Greeks is akin to putting Jews in concentration camps, then that reflects badly on you. By the way, I’m Greek myself and work and pay taxes in Greece that Vasilis seems to think should be squandered by the state, so I know the situation I am describing very, very well. I’m also a proud European and I think his ‘vision’ of the future of the EU is naive and, indeed, pathetic, and am glad that it has been rejected across Europe in favour of one that takes seriously good financing, sensible public spending and the concept that individuals should work hard for their own future and not expect the state to give them everything.
#18 by Francois on August 25, 2010 - 12:44 am
It is your arguments which are pathetic Greek taxpayer…you check the web and you see many comparisons between Merkel and Thatcher. And it is your arguments which are extremely simplistic too…People have every right to disagree with Merkel’s policies and to express their disagreement. The article is not about the state of the Greek economy. It is about Merkel and her policies…If you want to write an article about the Greek economy why just you don’t do it? There are plenty of points in the article that you hardly mention. And according to my own view, it is not responsible economics to give billions to banks while you get nothing back like Merkel does!
#19 by Etienne on September 16, 2010 - 1:27 pm
There are always people who want to sell their soul.
So nothing new, very good for their selves.
#20 by Petr on September 16, 2010 - 7:54 pm
I would certainly rather live in “Merkelised Europe” than in “Chiracesque or “Schroederised” Europe.
#21 by Leo Axt on September 28, 2010 - 4:46 pm
I thought this was about compraing \style\, not \policies\. In that respect, this article is ridiculous. The style couldn’t be more apart, iron lady on the one hand, silent lady (as she is called in Germany) on the other. She never has an opinion on anything and mostly sits and waits for her coalition to stop bickering.
Her policies are awful, but certainly not comparable to Thatcher.
Greece will not be saved by the big bail-out, though it still was needed, in order to save the Euro. Greece may either collapse later-on, when it comes to repaying the credits, and do so in a more favorable, less hysteric world-finance-climate, or else growth will pick up so vertiginously by 2013 that debt will repay itself. But Grecce’s woes aren’t over, nor are they thansk to Merkel.
As the EU was needed for rescue, more EU is needed in preventing scenarios that require rescue. Please get the Greece, and everyone else, to adhere to sound economic policies in the first hand. Do so through coordination and tough, at least semi-automatic sanctions for states that don’t comply. It ain’t that hard after all.
#22 by Michael on October 7, 2010 - 2:22 pm
Im in the UK, Thatcher was anti- European, she created a rich and poor devide in Britain as a matter of policy, asnd this rich and poor devide continued under Tony Blair and New Labour.
I wish to learn more about Europe, because I am aware of the EU Social Charter.
Ide like to make an EU contact who has political knowledge and insight, preferable a Social Democrat, right wingers have no vision, and therefore are only interested in the short
term.
E.mail please at, michaelt2857020@fsmail.net
#23 by Joe on March 27, 2011 - 11:38 pm
Where did you buy your PhD from?