Freedom, Memoirs 1954-2021
Angela Merkel, Macmillan, £35

FONDLY referred to as “Mutti” (Mummy) by many Germans, Angela Merkel spent an unprecedented four terms as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, from 2005-21. She was the first woman to hold this office. Unlike so many of her former compatriots from the GDR, who were unceremoniously dismissed from their posts after unification, she was the great exception and rose to become the most powerful politician in united Germany.

This is her account of those momentous years, but if any reader is looking for revelations or sensational exposures, they will be sorely disappointed. Her memoir is a rather pedestrian chronological narrative of events in which she was involved, from the early days of unification, through the Kohl scandal (in which it was revealed that he had accepted millions of Deutsche Marks in secret donations from an arms manufacturer), the global financial crash and Greek economic crisis to the pandemic. During her retelling she gives us over-much detail, often only of probable interest to German readers.