Best German Chancellor of the last 50 years

[GoodSarmatian]

Helmut Kohl. He reunified Germany and oversaw the creation of the EU, so he doesn't really have a serious competition.

He's also corrupt and screwed up the integration and development of east Germany's economy and neglected the integration of immigrants.

 

[kronic]

Kohl would've been a fine chancellor if he had left office in 1992.

Which undoubtedly would have happened if the Soviet bloc hadn't collapsed.

It was an offer by Stalin. Of course it was right to decline it.

Bollocks.

 

[REDY]

Adenauer

 

[Leoreth]

Which undoubtedly would have happened if the Soviet bloc hadn't collapsed.

Exactly.

Bollocks.

Care to elaborate? Given how the USSR under Stalin treated other Central European nations who tried to maintain neutrality, but didn't have an alliance behind them, doubting his intentions seems to be reasonable. If I recall an article I read some time ago correctly, the opening of the Soviet archives also didn't indicate any plans for how to deal with the situation should the West accept, which only reinforces the suspicion. But maybe this discussion is better carried over to the history forum?

 

[keli]

Merkel, she has done much for the EU, in a positive way.

 

[Dachs]

Me too. There's no one who really stands out in that collection.

The ones I'd choose deserve most of their credit not for their years as chancellor, like Erhard or, if the scope would've been extended to the Weimar Republic, Stresemann.

Stresemann was sort of like Erhard in that sense. His best work was outside the chancellery in the foreign ministry; his tenure as chancellor coincided with the Ruhr crisis and was nigh disastrous. (And considering he came almost immediately after the ridiculous "above-party" would-be technocracy of Cuno, that's saying something.)

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Merkel, she has done much for the EU, in a positive way.

Are you fornicating kidding me ?
She's being called out by older CDU veterans (including Kohl) for her hesistant and half-hearted 'handling' of the Euro-crisis. She made the Greek mess worse when she first refused any aid. There was a good reason: State elections in NRW. After the election was over -and her party lost NRW- she buckled...

 

[Leoreth]

Stresemann was sort of like Erhard in that sense. His best work was outside the chancellery in the foreign ministry; his tenure as chancellor coincided with the Ruhr crisis and was nigh disastrous. (And considering he came almost immediately after the ridiculous "above-party" would-be technocracy of Cuno, that's saying something.)

Yeah, that's why I mentioned him along with Erhard. But didn't his attempts to ease the conflict with France over the Ruhr area already fall into his chancellorship, and didn't he also fare quite well against the Hitler coup and that other matter in Saxony (Socialist uprisings iirc)?

My impression of Stresemann was that most of the problems he presided over were inherited, and while he wasn't exactly successful, someone else could've done much worse in the same situation. He wasn't even put out of office for failure, but due to Weimar's typically frail coalitions.


Edit: on judging Merkel, in my opinion incumbent heads of government shouldn't even be in the polls because a) the view upon them is skewed by current politics and b) it's impossible to judge the actual repercussions of their actions.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

He's also corrupt and screwed up the integration and development of east Germany's economy and neglected the integration of immigrants.

Yeah but they were commies so who cares.

Anyway, the correct answer is Walter Ulbricht.

 

[Leoreth]

Yeah, we should've included that as a joke answer

 

[Dachs]

Yeah, that's why I mentioned him along with Erhard. But didn't his attempts to ease the conflict with France over the Ruhr area already fall into his chancellorship, and didn't he also fare quite well against the Hitler coup and that other matter in Saxony (Socialist uprisings iirc)?

My impression of Stresemann was that most of the problems he presided over were inherited, and while he wasn't exactly successful, someone else could've done much worse in the same situation. He wasn't even put out of office for failure, but due to Weimar's typically frail coalitions.

Decent points, although the systemically deleterious effects of Stresemann and Ebert's use of emergency powers has always made me a little wary of giving him too much credit there.

Is it wrong if I kinda like Weizsäcker better than most if not all of the Chancellors?

 

[holy king]

http://www.yomusic.de/#/blechreiz

 

[keli]

Are you fornicating kidding me ?
She's being called out by older CDU veterans (including Kohl) for her hesistant and half-hearted 'handling' of the Euro-crisis. She made the Greek mess worse when she first refused any aid. There was a good reason: State elections in NRW. After the election was over -and her party lost NRW- she buckled...

She is not perfect, but she was the one who had made the Treaty of Lisbon possible and is responsible for a huge step forward.

 

[REDY]

To be fair, who wouldnt do same? Its common practice at least in EU issues listen and promise to people before elections and do opossite after.

 

[Leoreth]

Decent points, although the systemically deleterious effects of Stresemann and Ebert's use of emergency powers has always made me a little wary of giving him too much credit there.

True.

Is it wrong if I kinda like Weizsäcker better than most if not all of the Chancellors?

Oh, yeah, by far. Weizsäcker was an amazing intellectual of remarkable integrity, which you rarely see in politicians.

 

[7ronin]

No doubt about it. "Der Alte" (Adenauer) wins hands down. He led Germany from tragedy to triumph.

 

[Darkwind]

Merkel just won a battle this week in the summit; I feel more and more confident with my vote. (my vote here XD)

I think she did the right thing and taught those french who's the boss in EU.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

Adolf Hi-

Oh, nevermind.

 

[Mr. Sulu]

Konrad Adenauer tops my list. As the first German Chancellor after World War II he had to deal with de-nazification and a nearly destroyed nation whose economy and infrastructure had been left in ruins. He reconciled with France and Israel, made West Germany a member of NATO and a firm ally of the United States. He set it onto the path to economic and political stability and Germany is now the world's 4rth largst Economy, 2 largest exporter and leading state in the European Union. He obviously had some problems (Sympathy for Nazis, his policy toward Eastern Europe) but he is certainly one of the fathers of modern Germany, Bundesrepublik Deutschland.