ANGELA MERKEL: A PARADIGM OF GOOD GOVERNANCE

 

ANGELA MERKEL: A PARADIGM OF GOOD GOVERNANCE

                                                                    Dr M. D. Thomas

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There are certain pieces of news, which one would like to happily render one’s ears to, every time they reach one’s years. Since they are pleasing to listen to, soothing to one’s ears and hearts as well as edifying, they do not ever grow stale; instead, the freshness and relevance of the news, along with its motivating fibre, remains and the value of the news increases. One such news in the recent history of the world is that of ‘Angela Merkel’, Chancellor of Germany, whom Germany bid farewell to, a couple of months ago.   

Angela Merkel made ‘history’ in the world as well as in Germany by being bid farewell to with ‘six minutes of warm round of applause’, along with a ‘nation-wide standing ovation’. The whole country, with people on the streets, balconies and windows, applauded her in a spectacular and historic way, with no second. No wonder, Angela emerged as a singular exemplar of ‘leadership and defense of humanity’.

A bird’s eye view of the German world would be worth the while for having a deeper sight into the merit of Mrs Angela alongside her setting. German people are known for being hardworking, disciplined, punctual, truthful, logical, efficient, economical, sensible and humorous. They respect the privacy of the other, the structure and laws of society, keep a sense of ‘order’ in business culture and often spend their time practically about how a problem should be solved. Though they are individualized, they give due importance to family.

Further, Germany is the largest and the strongest economy in Europe as well as the fourth largest in the world. It is the largest exporter of high quality goods in Europe, like cars, machinery and pharmaceutics, together with chemical and electrical products. It has the highest share of industry in gross value among the G7 countries. The strongest sectors of vehicle construction, electrical industry, engineering and chemical industry and a GDP of 3.67 trillion USD in 2017 make Germany indisputably well off, as well.

Coming back to Mrs Merkel, the Germans elected her to lead 80 million Germans. She did so for 18 years, with ‘competence, skill, dedication and sincerity’, to the approval of one and all. She was hailed as ‘The Lady of the World’ and was described as ‘equivalent of six million men’. She emerged as a major epitome of ‘governance and good governance’, unlike most politicians and rulers ever do, incredibly so. 

Politicians in all places are mostly known for certain typical mindset and behavior, though with more or less degrees. They are extremely selfish and highhanded, tell lies, utter nonsense, stand for photo shots, assign their relatives and pets to government posts, make infallible claims, take top credits, advertize empty glories, make false promises, pretend to be gods, create sycophants, and the like, profusely so. But, ‘Angela Merkel’ chose to do none of these, for the noble reasons that guided her to leadership. 

No wonder, the eighteen years of her leadership in the country recorded not a single lapse against her. She handed the party leadership position over to those after her, without any to-do about anything. The best part of all that she lived for during the eighteen years at the helm of affairs of the country was ‘leaving Germany and its people on the top, in the best condition ever’. That was her remarkable merit. That itself is the definition of ‘good governance’, too.

Angela Merkel, as a ‘silent and sober leader’, chose to be what she was and chose to be what she wasn’t, too. A former chemical physicist from East Germany, Angela was not attracted by fashion, lights, real estate, cars, yachts, private planes, and the like, not at all. She wore the ‘same wardrobe’ for eighteen years, noteworthy indeed. She was, in all probability, just one of her kinds in the history of the world. No surprise, ‘God bless this silent leader’, was the prayer that emanated from one and all during the ovation.   

‘I am a government employee and not a model’, was her sharp response, when a journalist inquired ‘whether she had no option other than wearing the same suit’. Again, when questioned by journalists whether housemaids do her household work or not, she informed them unassumingly that ‘she and her husband together do their home-making’. She wondered why the journalists did not question her about the successes and failures in her government!

Mrs Merkel lived in an ordinary apartment before she was elected Chancellor of Germany and she continued to live there, like a regular citizen, unlike other dignitaries anywhere. She did not feel the need of a villa, servants, swimming pools, gardens and other show-off amenities. That was the ‘simplicity and modesty’ she put on view for the people as ‘qualities of a genuine and seasoned leader’. Her focus was not herself, but ‘good governance’ of her country and the wellbeing of the people who placed trust in her.

Obviously, ‘governance’ is ‘the process of decision-making and the procedure of implementing those decisions’. It is the exercise of authority by political leaders for the well-being of the citizens of a certain country. It refers to ‘structures and processes that are designed to ensure ‘accountability, transparency, responsiveness, rule of law, stability, equity, inclusiveness, empowerment and broad-based participation’.

Further on, ‘good governance’ is the yardstick of ‘integrity and efficiency’ reflected in the ‘proper, effective and sustainable utilization of resources’, human and natural. It is the measure of satisfaction in the citizens of the respective country as beneficiaries of governance, in which public affairs, institutions and resources are administered in an ideal and ethical way, all for the needs of the society in hand, sensitively so. 

In the light of the various dimensions of the ‘leadership’ of Angela Merkel and her Germany described above, it is our duty as well as Constitutional right as ‘we the people’ to pore over our self-styled leaders, in India and world over. It is indeed appalling to observe that a high percentage of them have ‘criminal backgrounds’, as the only certificate of eligibility for the post they hold. Not knowing ‘the trade and the rule of the game’, most of them literally miss the goal and end up making a complete mess of the business in hand. No wonder, the citizens are the hapless victims of the ‘bad governance’ they display therein.      

Will our leaders stop or at least reduce telling ‘lies’ in public? Will our administrators refrain from making ‘superlative and blank claims’ and stop bluffing the people? Will our elected representatives renounce ‘arrogance of power’ and ‘authoritarian politics’ and realize that they are ‘not anointed to rule over their people’? Will those in the governmental system ever become ‘humble and capable’ enough, so as to serve the people, who are placed in their hands by the respective Constitution of their land? These are some of the razor-sharp questions that are before all those who occupy the ‘public space’, the world over, as they are confronted by the ‘mirror of good governance’, which Angela Merkel lived for Germany and beyond.     

While presenting an award of heartfelt ‘salute and kudos’ to Mrs Angela Merkel, the Emeritus Chancellor of Germany, for emerging as a ‘paradigm of good governance’, it is the ardent wish of the citizens of the human society, in India and beyond, ‘may our leaders imbibe the ‘ethical fibre’ of governance and good governance’, in favour of a world that is harmonious and better for the humans of the 21^st century!

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The author is Director, Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi, and has been committed to cross-cultural perspectives, cross-scriptural values, constitutional values, interfaith relations, communal harmony, national integration and social wellbeing, for the past over 40 years. He contributes to the above cause through lectures, articles, video messages, conferences, social interactions, views at TV channels, and the like.

He could be viewed, listened to and contacted at the following portals – websites ‘www.mdthomas.in’ (p), ‘https://mdthomas.academia.edu’ (p), ‘https://drmdthomas.blogspot.com’(p) and ‘www.ihpsindia.org’ (o); social media ‘https://www.youtube.com/InstituteofHarmonyandPeaceStudies’ (o), ‘https://twitter.com/mdthomas53’ (p), ‘https://www.facebook.com/mdthomas53’ (p); email ‘mdthomas53@gmail.com’ (p) and telephone 9810535378 (p).

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Published in ‘The Secular Citizen’ (Weekly Magazine), Mumbai, Vol. 30, Issue No 19, p.14-15 – on 10-16 May 2021