Angela Merkel once considered the most  powerful woman in the world has stayed  

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largely silent since stepping down as Germany's  leader three years ago until now she's talking  

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with Mark Phillips these still conjure up highly  emotional memories for we met Angela Merkel in  

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a Fitting Place for her the museum in Berlin  dedicated to the wall that great symbol of the  

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Cold War division between East and West parts  of the wall have been preserved as a reminder  

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of those hard times especially for someone who  live through them when you look at what the the  

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wall what comes to mind to you immediately yeah  between the ages of 7 and 35 I had to live with  

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this wall I was so to speak behind the wall and  couldn't come to this side and of course that's  

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still very moving angle the merkel's new book  is filled with moving memories of what it was  

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like growing up in the Communist controlled  police state that was East Germany her family  

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had moved there when she was an infant because  her father a Protestant Pastor was assigned to  

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a church there but it was the fall of the wall  that spurred her political Awakening and jump  

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started a career nobody would have been on a woman  from the east who would not only become chancellor  

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of Germany but who would hold the job for 16 years  who would be called the most powerful woman in the  

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world and who would deal with its most powerful  men it turns out life in the East actually had  

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given her one advantage for dealing with all  those men in dark suits those bright pant suits of  

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hers weren't an accident in my book I write that  maybe my love for colorful clothes is due to the  

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fact that in the East everything was very gray  Angela Merkel merkel's uniform became part of  

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her identity and helped her break through the  American pop cultural barrier hello cool kids  

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the way few European leaders could Angela Merkel  left power three years ago this week and has gone  

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into a kind of self-imposed political radio  silence since then keeping her Recollections  

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and her opinions to herself not any more among  the more Awkward memories that first shocking  

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even embarrassing meeting with President Donald  Trump I think it's fair to say your most difficult  

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relationship with an American president was with  President Trump in his first term you talk about  

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your first encounter in the Oval Office where  he refused to shake your hand and you say that  

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it occurred to you that he was fascinated with  Putin and with politicians with authoritarian  

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and dictatorial traits why did you say that why  he didn't want to shake my hand that you have to  

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ask him I think he often conveyed a message with a  handshake with some men he shook hands for a long

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time what were you thinking should I reach over  will we shake hands won't we shake hands what's  

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he trying to do I describe it in my book because  it was so interesting I whispered to him I think  

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they want us to shake hands and at that moment  when I said it I noticed that he wanted to convey  

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a message and I was quite naive telling him that  they want us to shake hands but did you get what  

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he was trying to do you did you think oh he's  going to play it that way that's how we're going  

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to do it yeah yeah that's the way it was I left  being convinced that multilateral Corporation  

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would be difficult with Donald Trump you can make  deals with Donald Trump because he always think  

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in terms of advantage and disadvantage but in  my experience win-win situations are not only  

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good for one side but for both sides that's not  really his way of thinking Merkel's book which  

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is being released around the world went to press  before last month's election you say at the end of  

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your first uh chapter about Donald Trump that  you wish with all my heart that kamala harris  

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defeats her competitor and becomes president  were you very disappointed in the results of  

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the American election I was sad first of all  I wanted a woman to win I was also in favor  

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of Hillary Clinton and secondly I'm closer  to Kamala Harris's political conviction but  

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the American voters have decided and it was a  democratic election Merkel has come in for her  

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own share of criticism since she left office her  decision to allow more than a million refugees  

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and migrants fleeing Syria into Germany is  now often cited as a reason for the rise  

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of the anti-immigrant right-wing political  parties in Europe she says those forces were  

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on the rise anyway the countdown her decision to  allow the German economy to become too dependent  

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on Russian natural gas is seen as another reason  for Germany's economic decline since the flow was  

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stopped She says staying engaged with Vladimir  Putin seemed like the right idea at the time  

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difficult though it was and it didn't stop him  from invading Ukraine you a lot with Vladimir  

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Putin I take it reading between the lines of  your book that you found him a very difficult  

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and manipulative character uh as well that he even  an intimidating character at times famously you  

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don't like dogs he'd bring his dog to the meeting  do you think he did that in an intimidating kind  

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of way and how would you suggest people deal  with him especially as things are heating up  

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again without fear of course there are attempts  to see how people react under a certain amount of  

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pressure and Putin can do that too and with a dog  he expressed exactly that but it all depends on  

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how I manage the situation I'm used to political  pressure since childhood so that did not Shock Me  

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Angela Merkel despite all her experience says she  now refrains from giving advice but she does give  

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hints we worried about the way things are now I'm  worried in general about the developments in the  

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world always said that fear is not a good advisor  times have become rougher we are now sitting in a  

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place where the world was divided in the Cold  War and then there was 1990 we had great hopes  

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that things would become easier after the end  of the Cold War things have not become easier

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