AFP, Berlin :
Pragmatic, childless pastors’ daughters with killer instincts who were long underestimated by their blustering male peers — the parallels between new British Prime Minister Theresa May and Germany’s Angela Merkel are striking at first glance.
But analysts warn that resemblance may mask more fundamental differences that will complicate talks on Britain’s divorce from the EU, pitting its newest leader against its longest-serving.
May took office Wednesday as Britain’s second woman to occupy 10 Downing Street after Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” with whom both she and Merkel have frequently been compared.
Like May, who was depicted this week in a Times cartoon on a blood-stained carpet surrounded by erstwhile rivals with daggers in their backs, Merkel’s rise also came after years lying in wait until the time was ripe to snatch the crown.
“Beyond being surrounded by immature men who magically commit public harakiri, what May seems to share with Merkel is the caution, the general aura of biding her time,” Constanze Stelzenmueller of the Brookings Institution told AFP.
“There’s also a degree of seriousness about May that I think she shares with Merkel, and after the bonfire of the vanities in the Tory party, that now seems particularly appealing.”
The Financial Times as early as 2014 wrote an admiring profile of May entitled “Britain’s Angela Merkel?” which said each was a “non-ideological politician with a ruthless streak who gets on with the job”.
Beyond noting their shared passion for mountain hikes and cooking, it quoted a 2012 interview May gave the Daily Telegraph in which she hailed Merkel’s no-nonsense approach.
“If you think of what (Merkel)’s achieved, you know, there are still people who don’t rate her, are a bit dismissive, perhaps because of the way she looks and dresses. What matters is, what has she actually done?”
Germany’s top-selling daily Bild asked this week “How much Merkel is in Mrs. Brexit?” and noted the “surprising” number of similarities between the 61-year-old German leader and May, 59.
“Neither is yielding, let alone submissive, in negotiations — both preachers’ daughters are seen as strong-willed, almost to the point of stubborn.”
However it noted that one crucial point of divergence was their stance on migrants, contrasting Merkel’s “We will manage” mantra during last year’s record refugee influx to Germany with May’s “uncompromising” calls for stricter controls on new arrivals to Britain.
Bild, which has generally backed Merkel’s liberal policy, said May had flirted with “crude right-wing populism” in touting a hardline immigration policy.
May, who discreetly backed the Remain campaign ahead of last month’s shock EU referendum result, has said immigration controls would have to be included in any deal for Britain to access the EU’s single market.
“The key question is whether they can keep their cake and eat it — in other words, single market access and immigration restrictions,” Stelzenmueller said.
“It would be very, very difficult for Merkel to make that kind of concession. The risk of setting a bad example that then encourages and enables the fragmenting forces in Europe is more than Merkel can responsibly incur.”
Pragmatic, childless pastors’ daughters with killer instincts who were long underestimated by their blustering male peers — the parallels between new British Prime Minister Theresa May and Germany’s Angela Merkel are striking at first glance.
But analysts warn that resemblance may mask more fundamental differences that will complicate talks on Britain’s divorce from the EU, pitting its newest leader against its longest-serving.
May took office Wednesday as Britain’s second woman to occupy 10 Downing Street after Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” with whom both she and Merkel have frequently been compared.
Like May, who was depicted this week in a Times cartoon on a blood-stained carpet surrounded by erstwhile rivals with daggers in their backs, Merkel’s rise also came after years lying in wait until the time was ripe to snatch the crown.
“Beyond being surrounded by immature men who magically commit public harakiri, what May seems to share with Merkel is the caution, the general aura of biding her time,” Constanze Stelzenmueller of the Brookings Institution told AFP.
“There’s also a degree of seriousness about May that I think she shares with Merkel, and after the bonfire of the vanities in the Tory party, that now seems particularly appealing.”
The Financial Times as early as 2014 wrote an admiring profile of May entitled “Britain’s Angela Merkel?” which said each was a “non-ideological politician with a ruthless streak who gets on with the job”.
Beyond noting their shared passion for mountain hikes and cooking, it quoted a 2012 interview May gave the Daily Telegraph in which she hailed Merkel’s no-nonsense approach.
“If you think of what (Merkel)’s achieved, you know, there are still people who don’t rate her, are a bit dismissive, perhaps because of the way she looks and dresses. What matters is, what has she actually done?”
Germany’s top-selling daily Bild asked this week “How much Merkel is in Mrs. Brexit?” and noted the “surprising” number of similarities between the 61-year-old German leader and May, 59.
“Neither is yielding, let alone submissive, in negotiations — both preachers’ daughters are seen as strong-willed, almost to the point of stubborn.”
However it noted that one crucial point of divergence was their stance on migrants, contrasting Merkel’s “We will manage” mantra during last year’s record refugee influx to Germany with May’s “uncompromising” calls for stricter controls on new arrivals to Britain.
Bild, which has generally backed Merkel’s liberal policy, said May had flirted with “crude right-wing populism” in touting a hardline immigration policy.
May, who discreetly backed the Remain campaign ahead of last month’s shock EU referendum result, has said immigration controls would have to be included in any deal for Britain to access the EU’s single market.
“The key question is whether they can keep their cake and eat it — in other words, single market access and immigration restrictions,” Stelzenmueller said.
“It would be very, very difficult for Merkel to make that kind of concession. The risk of setting a bad example that then encourages and enables the fragmenting forces in Europe is more than Merkel can responsibly incur.”
