Although she has made herself really rare, it is not as if Angela Merkel could not be seen here and there after the end of her chancellorship, publicly and less publicly. A few months ago in the Deutsches Theater, where she was sitting in intimate intimacy with Ulrich Matthes, suddenly in front of her booth closely guarded by two or three bodyguards as the bar became fuller.
That evening, they both probably discussed the eulogy that Merkel gave a little later at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for the actor, who was a good friend of hers. Even on her 70th birthday, she couldn’t avoid being celebrated by her party colleagues.
From the end of November onwards there could be another proverbial Angela Merkel festival. The political memoirs of the former Federal Chancellor will be published on November 26th. D., titled “Freedom. Memories 1954-2021.” There was already a stir about these when the publisher Kiepenheuer & Witsch announced in autumn 2022 that they had received the contract to publish it from Merkel.
Not only was there talk of an advance payment in the double-digit million range, which is enormous even in such a high-profile case, but Merkel also decided against using ghostwriters. She is said to have actually written the book alone with her former office manager Beate Baumann, of course in close collaboration with the KiWi editors. And with Baumann, Merkel, also unusually, went in search of a publisher all alone, cutting out book and literary agencies.
The question of whether Merkel’s “highly anticipated” memoirs will really be as exciting as the publisher promises will soon be answered, perhaps by herself. Because publishing books requires authors themselves also go on stage.
Kiepenheuer and Witsch are now announcing that Angela Merkel will be presenting her book on the day it is published, Tuesday, November 26th, where she feels most comfortable: in the Deutsches Theater. Anne Will will be the moderator and the whole thing costs a not-so-light 35 euros. Which is at least a few less than the 42 euros that the publisher is asking for the book. The freedom of the title can therefore be interpreted in any direction.