“I wish we had our own Angela Merkel.”
Would it not be great if we had a leader like Germany’s Angela Merkel in our midst?
Last week, after leading Germany as Chancellor for over 16 years, Merkel finally retired, assured of her place in German history as one outstanding leader. After the usual departure honors, she returned to the simple apartment in Berlin that she and her husband shared to take a well-deserved rest.
Merkel left office with Germany’s soft power and standing in the international community greatly enhanced. In her 16 years as Germany’s leader, she acquired many accolades like being labeled as the de facto leader of the European Union and the most powerful and influential woman in the world. At one time, she was even given the title of leader of the free world normally reserved for the President of the United States instead of the label going to former United States President Donald Trump.
Trained as a scientist with a doctorate degree in quantum chemistry, Merkel started in politics after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. Her journey to the highest political post of her country took 15 years when in 2005, she became the first woman Chancellor of Germany. Being a woman in a male dominated political system, many underestimated her, only to find out that she can lead and get things done. As one observer once wrote, “Merkel’s greatest strong point is that she has redefined the meaning of strength. With her, strength had nothing to do with visible dominance, with arrogant pride, with boastfulness, with intimidation, and with public humiliation or the ability to scare others.”
Another also said that Merkel was “prudent, modest and preferred discussion, deliberation, and consensus.”
But make no mistake — about it, she was a no-nonsense leader who was well respected. She also had strong moral values and was able to connect to others. She showed that one can lead effectively without grandstanding and being an authoritarian.
Since we are now preparing for national elections, I have often wondered if there is anyone among our presidential candidates who can come close to Merkel’s kind of leadership or whether a country like ours even need a leader with the style of Merkel. Our country after all, has different sets of problems and challenges. But the style and qualities of a leader can define the character of a country and that is why we must select the best presidential candidate for the wellbeing of our nation. In electing our leader, we Filipinos seem to gravitate towards a “strong leader.” This is perhaps because we rely on our leader a lot to make the decisions while we follow.
Nothing illustrates this better than during this pandemic wherein everyone looked up to the President to make all decisions, even the minute details like face-to-face classes.
Whether this kind of leadership style has done the country good over the years is of course what will again be settled come May 2022. We had one strongman for a president for 20 years. Our current president is another.
So, it is up to us if we want to elect another one or one with a different leadership style. One that I can think of with a different style is former President Fidel Ramos. His style somewhat resembles that of Merkel. Ramos, had he wanted, could have easily become a strongman but instead, relied more on his managerial and leadership skills acquired from his long years in the military to govern. Ramos was methodical and never made any spur of the moment decisions. He also had strong ethical and moral values and this has guided him in his many important decisions.
He was not perfect, to be sure, but he turned over a government to his successor with a solid foundation for a sustained economic growth that we are enjoying today. He also enhanced our international reputation.
The five remaining serious presidential candidates come from different backgrounds. One is a lawyer and the widow of a very popular politician. Another has a military and police background. We also have a former actor and a world champion boxer as candidates. Lastly, we have the son of a former president. Four of them are presently holding public office while one was a former senator and provincial governor. So, who will it be? A Merkel type or a strongman? I can see that of the five candidates there’s a couple resembling Merkel’s style while the rest have traits resembling a strongman.
Whoever our choice is, we should select a competent candidate with strong ethical and moral values. More importantly, we must select one who will work within our established democratic system in order to preserve, nurture and protect our democratic institutions.