ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN HISTORY, AND BEING PRINCIPLED?

Matthew Qvortrup, Angela Merkel: Europe's Most Influential Leader (New York & London: Overlook Duckworth, 2016) ("This book gives an account of German history seen through the life of a demure former research scientist who, against all odds, rose to become the most powerful woman in the world. It chronicles the transformation of a woman who personified caution but who suddenly discovered her deepest convictions. It reveals how she stood up for the Christian values of her childhood home when she--to the consternation of many of her compatriots--opened the doors to refugees from the Middle East in 2015. It also perhaps explains why she spent much of her carefully accumulated political capital on a deeply unpopular policy. Why was it that a woman known for caution suddenly showed such resolve? To answer the question we need the full story of her life." Id. at 13. "Merkel could not be sure that she would survive politically but she was not willing to abandon her principles for the sake of political gain. While other countries devised increasingly sophisticated policies for keeping refugees out, Merkel boldly stated,'I will not enter competition in who can treat the refugees the worst.' She sounded define, but she was on the defensive. Before, the refugee crisis all seemed to be going well, so smoothly and with such effortless ease." Id. at 14. I guess Donald J. Trump, with his "extreme vetting," is someone who has entered the competition in who can treat the refugees the worst. I don't see how Merkel can, let alone will, take Trump intellectually serious. Just as one must hope Ruth Bader Ginsberg lives forever, one shoe hope Angela Merkel remains Germany's Chancellor for the a long while.).