Angela Merkel and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in conversation

Angela Merkel and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in conversation

The German Chancellor and the celebrated Nigerian feminist author discussed politics, and how they are influenced by social media — and fashion.

Manasi Gopalakrishnan
September 9, 2021

Renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Chancellor Angela Merkel were the guest speakers at a panel held at the Düsseldorf's Schauspielhaus theater on Wednesday, alongside journalists and entrepreneurs Miriam Meckel and Lea Steinacker.

The Merkel Years / How the refugee crisis created two myths of Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel by Matt Kenyon

THE MERKEL YEARS

How the refugee crisis created two myths of Angela Merkel

Daniel Trilling
Tuesday 21 September 2021

W

hen Angela Merkel steps down as chancellor once Germany’s elections later this month produce a new government, the tributes will centre on her role as the figurehead of western liberalism; an island of stability, caution and openness in an era marked by turbulence and far-right reaction. She will be remembered “for serious work, stable leadership and having a gift for political compromise”, wrote Ishaan Tharoor in the Washington Post last week. When she faced off against Donald Trump after his inauguration in 2017, some newspapers dubbed her the new “leader of the free world”.