Hausfrau Appeal

Photo of Angela Merkel courtesy of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Halfway through her term, Angela Merkel's shrewdness, unpretentious "Hausfrau" image and sheer luck have made her more popular than any of her seven male predecessors were at this stage of the political cycle. She's likely to play it safe during the next two years, avoiding painful reforms.

Angela Merkel is more popular now than any German chancellor since the end of World War II, according to a new opinion poll which puts her mid-term approval rating at a record 76 percent. The figure is impressive because after a couple of years in office, leaders often see their popularity hit by by broken campaign promises and dashed hopes.

The poll by the Emnid institute for Bild am Sonntag newspaper showed that only 21 percent of respondents want a change of government. "Such positive ratings for a German government leader half-way through the term have never been recorded before," Emnid director Klaus-Peter Schöppner told the paper. "People admire how Merkel stands her ground in the world of Bush, Putin and Sarkozy."

After two years leading Germany, Merkel is as uncharismatic as she ever was, and her low-key style of government couldn't be more different from that of her media-savvy and vain predecessor Gerhard Schröder. Germans have evidently warmed to the sober, understated approach that almost lost her the 2005 general election.

There's nothing showy about her. One of the most enduring images of Schröder, taken by star photographer Peter Lindbergh, shows him posing in a "Brioni" cashmere coat for a fashion magazine. Merkel Sitting Pretty Two Years Into Term (more)

Mark Alexander