"The Godmother"

A new book discribing Angela Merkel as a power-obsessed egomaniac whose authoritarian tactics threaten the foundations of democracy is creating a stir in Germany and focusing attention on opposition to the chancellor inside her party. "The Godmother" probably would have drawn little attention were the book's author, Gertrud Höhler, not an influential conservative voice in the chancellor's own Christian Democratic Union. Gertrud Höhler, presenting her new book Thursday, was a longtime adviser to Helmut Kohl and other conservatives in Ms. Merkel's party.A former adviser to Helmut Kohl and other senior German politicians and business leaders, Ms. Höhler is a frequent presence in the German media. She is a fixture of the old guard of Ms. Merkel's CDU.   In the book, which hit stores on Friday, the author assails Ms. Merkel's pragmatic governing style as a betrayal of core conservative values and accuses the chancellor of trying to consolidate her power by crushing internal opposition. In one passage, Ms. Höhler appears to draw a parallel between Ms. Merkel's solitary style of ruling and past authoritarian German rulers such as Hitler and Communist leader Erich Honecker. "System M," as Ms. Höhler describes the chancellor's governing style, "is establishing a quiet variation of authoritarian power." Ms. Höhler's extreme views of Ms. Merkel aren't shared by many conservatives. Yet she is not alone in accusing the chancellor of abandoning conservative ideals in the name of political expediency and for purging the party's senior ranks of anyone who could challenge her authority. While frustration with Ms. Merkel's governing style has been palpable for some time within her conservative base, the chancellor is more popular than ever with Germans overall. That broad popularity—Ms. Merkel enjoys the highest approval ratings of any elected German leader—has made it nearly impossible for her internal critics to gain traction....(source WSJ)