Queen of Germany; British press coverage of Angela Merkel
By European standards, news media in Britain is notably inward looking, so much so that on the rare occasions that they deign to cover politics outside of the British isles, it almost feels ungrateful to criticise their faults. After all, we wouldn't want to put them off the idea completely.
However, sometimes this coverage goes so far off course that it's not clear that British readers actually benefit from it or whether their impression of politics abroad simply becomes even more warped.
One good example is the way that the press treats Angela Merkel. In short, as the title suggests, there is a strong tendency to treat Merkel as though she is not just Chancellor, but Queen of Germany, a living incarnation of the German nation and its people. The only times they really stray from this line is when they instead decided to promote her to Queen of Europe.
Any time that something happens in German politics, the only angle taken by the British press is whether it makes Angela Merkel personally more or less powerful. Rise of AfD? Merkel is weakened. Win for CDU in state-level election? Merkel is strengthened. The interactions of party politics and the reactions of the public to different events other than Merkel herself rarely make headlines. It would be easy to think that Germany was actually a presidential system given the way that the British press personalises German politics around individuals. It is a guarantee that many more people in Britain will have heard of Angela Merkel, but far fewer will know what party she belongs to, such information usually only tucked away in articles about Germany and rarely making it to the headline.
So why does the British press put so much emphasis on one person? Britain too is a parliamentary system, there surely should not be any difficulty in capturing the nuances that such a system brings to political developments?
To understand this approach, you also have to understand that a lot of the British press are anti-EU and so by extension they are also anti-Germany. This is because Germany is seen to represent EU power. By focussing everything on Merkel they can make her into the embodiment of all that they resent. It's hard to really focus anger and hatred on abstract concepts like an institution or a country, but much easier to do so with people. By personifying German politics and sometimes European politics through Angela Merkel, the press create a figurehead to be attacked and reviled. This makes it much easier to portray any failing of hers as a failing of Germany and of Europe.
Consider the alternative, truly representing the parliamentary nature of German politics. If Merkel suffers a setback or a loss, well in the grand scheme of things this probably doesn't change much. A replacement from within her party would likely carry out similar policies and a challenge from the SPD under Schulz would be even more pro-EU and enthusiastic to strengthen the European project. This would require pro-Brexit press telling their readers that the EU will last and even get stronger, no matter what. Such a narrative would be less than useful.
It is not only the British public who are impacted by the nature of this coverage. It is clear that many politicians are too. The idea that to make a deal all you need is Merkel's personal approval has become widespread. This appeared to be the logic that informed Cameron's attempt at negotiations with the EU, something that failed pitifully, and could well sabotage Brexit negotiations from the outset.
Of course not all British press is pro-Brexit and it's true that even among anti-Brexit areas this personification of German politics continues but it does so in a less accentuated manner. The reality is also that the dominance of pro-Brexit positions in British media means that others are often left following that line rather than setting a different tone.
There are many problems with the way that international issues are covered in British press, but the overtly misleading way that many choose to report on Germany will be a big problem as Brexit approaches.
However, sometimes this coverage goes so far off course that it's not clear that British readers actually benefit from it or whether their impression of politics abroad simply becomes even more warped.
One good example is the way that the press treats Angela Merkel. In short, as the title suggests, there is a strong tendency to treat Merkel as though she is not just Chancellor, but Queen of Germany, a living incarnation of the German nation and its people. The only times they really stray from this line is when they instead decided to promote her to Queen of Europe.
Any time that something happens in German politics, the only angle taken by the British press is whether it makes Angela Merkel personally more or less powerful. Rise of AfD? Merkel is weakened. Win for CDU in state-level election? Merkel is strengthened. The interactions of party politics and the reactions of the public to different events other than Merkel herself rarely make headlines. It would be easy to think that Germany was actually a presidential system given the way that the British press personalises German politics around individuals. It is a guarantee that many more people in Britain will have heard of Angela Merkel, but far fewer will know what party she belongs to, such information usually only tucked away in articles about Germany and rarely making it to the headline.
So why does the British press put so much emphasis on one person? Britain too is a parliamentary system, there surely should not be any difficulty in capturing the nuances that such a system brings to political developments?
To understand this approach, you also have to understand that a lot of the British press are anti-EU and so by extension they are also anti-Germany. This is because Germany is seen to represent EU power. By focussing everything on Merkel they can make her into the embodiment of all that they resent. It's hard to really focus anger and hatred on abstract concepts like an institution or a country, but much easier to do so with people. By personifying German politics and sometimes European politics through Angela Merkel, the press create a figurehead to be attacked and reviled. This makes it much easier to portray any failing of hers as a failing of Germany and of Europe.
Consider the alternative, truly representing the parliamentary nature of German politics. If Merkel suffers a setback or a loss, well in the grand scheme of things this probably doesn't change much. A replacement from within her party would likely carry out similar policies and a challenge from the SPD under Schulz would be even more pro-EU and enthusiastic to strengthen the European project. This would require pro-Brexit press telling their readers that the EU will last and even get stronger, no matter what. Such a narrative would be less than useful.
It is not only the British public who are impacted by the nature of this coverage. It is clear that many politicians are too. The idea that to make a deal all you need is Merkel's personal approval has become widespread. This appeared to be the logic that informed Cameron's attempt at negotiations with the EU, something that failed pitifully, and could well sabotage Brexit negotiations from the outset.
Of course not all British press is pro-Brexit and it's true that even among anti-Brexit areas this personification of German politics continues but it does so in a less accentuated manner. The reality is also that the dominance of pro-Brexit positions in British media means that others are often left following that line rather than setting a different tone.
There are many problems with the way that international issues are covered in British press, but the overtly misleading way that many choose to report on Germany will be a big problem as Brexit approaches.
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