ICC w
24-12-6 What’s wrong with the International Criminal Court? | ABC Aus > .24-11-22 Mosab Hassan Yousef: Arrest warrant for Netanyahu is 'absurd' | nn > .
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
MAF - Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
A Northamptonshire hedger is ably assisted by a smiling land girl eager to learn the rural craft of hedge making and maintenance in this gentle instructional film, made by the Realist Film Unit for the Ministry of Agriculture.
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
In the late 1920s and early 1930s the Government introduce new measures to support domestic agriculture and farmers' income. Subsidies or price insurance schemes were created for sugar beet, wheat, cattle, dairy and sheep. The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marketing) Act 1928 promoted the standardisation of grades and packaging and introduced the "National Mark", a trade mark denoting home-produced food of a defined quality for eggs, beef, apples and pears. The Agricultural Marketing Acts of 1931 and 1933 sought to organise farmers into co-operative marketing associations and created Marketing Boards for bacon, pigs, hops, milk and potatoes. The Import Duties Act 1932 introduced a tariff on most imports including fruit and vegetables and quotas on imports of bacon, ham and other meat products. In 1936 the tithe rent charge was abolished, compensation paid to the Church and the money recovered from farmers over a 60-year period. In 1937 a scheme was introduce to subsidise the spreading of lime on agricultural land to boost the fertility of the soil. The Minister of Agriculture was given powers to regulate the cultivation and management of land, end tenancies, even take possession of land, under the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939. On 1 September 1939 many of these powers were delegated to County War Agricultural Executive Committees ("War Ags").
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
In the late 1920s and early 1930s the Government introduce new measures to support domestic agriculture and farmers' income. Subsidies or price insurance schemes were created for sugar beet, wheat, cattle, dairy and sheep. The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marketing) Act 1928 promoted the standardisation of grades and packaging and introduced the "National Mark", a trade mark denoting home-produced food of a defined quality for eggs, beef, apples and pears. The Agricultural Marketing Acts of 1931 and 1933 sought to organise farmers into co-operative marketing associations and created Marketing Boards for bacon, pigs, hops, milk and potatoes. The Import Duties Act 1932 introduced a tariff on most imports including fruit and vegetables and quotas on imports of bacon, ham and other meat products. In 1936 the tithe rent charge was abolished, compensation paid to the Church and the money recovered from farmers over a 60-year period. In 1937 a scheme was introduce to subsidise the spreading of lime on agricultural land to boost the fertility of the soil. The Minister of Agriculture was given powers to regulate the cultivation and management of land, end tenancies, even take possession of land, under the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939. On 1 September 1939 many of these powers were delegated to County War Agricultural Executive Committees ("War Ags").
War was declared on 3 September 1939. The UK entered the war well prepared for the maintenance of supplies of food but with less than 40% of the country's needs produced at home. The Ministry of Food was formed on 8 September and William Morrison appointed Minister. The Ministry of Food became the sole buyer and importer of food and regulated prices, guaranteeing farmers prices and markets for their produce. The Marketing Boards, except for milk and hops, were suspended.
Although the upper levels of government would remain in London to act as a “nucleus” the plan was to evacuate the majority of civil servants, mainly to seaside resorts that would have empty hotel accommodation. In this way for example the Ministry of Food (created separately from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries) established a major presence at Colwyn Bay (near Llandudno, North Wales). From their base on the Welsh Coast, the relocated civil servants (under Lord Woolton, Minister of Food from April '40 until '43) not only set about the enormous task of organising the distribution and rationing of food, they also initiated a massive propaganda effort directed at the people of Great Britain to educate them to feed themselves. It was from Colwyn Bay that initiatives such as “Dig for Victory” were set out.
Recruiting began for the Women's Land Army and in 1940, food rationing was introduced. Lord Woolton succeeded William Morrison as Minister for Food. In 1941, the US Lend-Lease act was passed under which food, agricultural machinery and equipment was sent from the US to the UK.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Agriculture,_Fisheries_and_Food_(United_Kingdom)#Ministry_of_Agriculture_and_Fisheries
Minister of Agriculture - 29 January 1939 to 14 May 1940
Reginald Dorman-Smith was educated at Harrow School and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. After serving in the army, he continued his career with a strong interest in agriculture, becoming president of the National Farmers Union (the NFU) at the age of 32, and then later Minister of Agriculture. He was first elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Petersfield in the 1935 general election as one of a handful of MPs sponsored by the NFU and served as the Union's president for the following few years.
In the late 1930s, the British Government's agricultural policy came in for heavy criticism from the NFU, Parliament and the Press and in January 1939 Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain took the bold step of appointing Dorman-Smith as Minister of Agriculture. In October 1940, Dorman-Smith instigated the Government's Dig for Victory campaign, aimed at increasing food production from allotments. However, when Chamberlain fell, Dorman-Smith was not included in the government of his successor, Winston Churchill.
Dorman-Smith was referred to in the book "Guilty Men" by Michael Foot, Frank Owen and Peter Howard (writing under the pseudonym 'Cato'), published in 1940 as an attack on public figures for their failure to re-arm and their appeasement of Nazi Germany.
Minister of Agriculture - 14 May 1940 to 26 July 1945
Robert Spear Hudson, 1st Viscount Hudson, CH, PC (15 August 1886 – 2 February 1957) was a British Conservative Party politician who held a number of ministerial posts during WW2.
He served in several ministerial posts, becoming a Privy Counsellor in 1938. From 1937 to 1940, Hudson served in the Department of Overseas Trade. He had a particular interest in farming and was a member of the council of the Royal Agricultural Society. In 1940, Hudson was appointed the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, a post he would hold until the 1945 election. In the opinion of Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton, Hudson "was by far the best of Ministers of Agriculture in either war...he was determined to see that farmers and landowners alike utilised every acre of soil to help keep the nation from starvation".
---
MoF - Ministry of Food ..
The Minister of Food Control (1916–1921) and the Minister of Food (1939–1958) were British government ministerial posts separated from that of the Minister of Agriculture. In the Great War the Ministry sponsored a network of canteens known as National Kitchens. In the Second World War a major task of the Ministry was to oversee rationing in the United Kingdom necessitated by WW2. The Minister was assisted by a Parliamentary Secretary.
Forestry Commission established as part of the Forestry Act 1919.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food .
Historic figures
Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet British politician, writer on both finance and agriculture, first person to use the word statistics in the English language .
Arthur Young English writer on agriculture, economics and social statistics.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food .
Historic figures
Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet British politician, writer on both finance and agriculture, first person to use the word statistics in the English language .
Arthur Young English writer on agriculture, economics and social statistics.
MAP - Minister of Aircraft Production
The Minister of Aircraft Production was from 1940 to 1945 the British government position in charge of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, one of the specialised supply ministries set up by the British Government, during WW2. It was responsible for aircraft production for the British forces, primarily the Royal Air Force, but also the Fleet Air Arm.
The department was formed in May 1940 by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in response to the need to produce large numbers of aircraft to fight the Battle of Britain. The first minister was Lord Beaverbrook; under his control the Ministry presided over an enormous increase in British aircraft production. Initially under the personal direction of the Minister, even for a time operating from his private home, the Ministry eventually established permanent offices, with a Director-General of Aircraft Production in charge. The Director-General for much of the war was Eric Fraser (1896-1960), who remained the most senior non-elected figure in the department. Fraser, whose pre-war career had been with Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).
In 1919 Fraser had joined the chemical company Brunner Mond & Co as a manager, remaining when it merged with three other British chemical manufacturers to become Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in 1926. With 33,000 employees, ICI was one of the largest manufacturers in Britain, able to compete with the rest of the world's chemical producers. Fraser was first appointed director-general of equipment production, before moving to the aircraft production post which he held throughout the rest of the war.
On the outbreak of WW2 a significant number of businessmen were seconded to the civil service, particularly in field of army supply. Fraser was part of this group, joining the War Office in 1939 as Assistant Director General of Progress and Statistics, then Director of Investigation and Statistics in 1940. Moving to the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP) in 1942, he became Director General of Equipment Production and, in April 1943, Director General of Aircraft Production, a post he held until the end of the war.
In MAP Fraser worked closely with the Minister of Aircraft Production who, from November 1942, was Sir Stafford Cripps, who worked well with Ministry staff. By 1942 aircraft production had rapidly expanded from a number of small innovative companies to be the largest industry in the country. MAP's role was to monitor and co-ordinate the activity of the industry to maximise output, particularly of bombers, and intervene to remove inefficiency and bad practice where necessary. MAP officials with previous experience in large industries, and who knew more about factories and production lines than ministers and permanent civil servants, played a key role in this work. While Fraser was Director General, Cripps developed Joint Production Consultation Committees, set up in each aircraft factory to allow an exchange of views between managers and workers. These mirrored ICI labour relations policies, which had already recognised works councils for a number of years.
In MAP Fraser worked closely with the Minister of Aircraft Production who, from November 1942, was Sir Stafford Cripps, who worked well with Ministry staff. By 1942 aircraft production had rapidly expanded from a number of small innovative companies to be the largest industry in the country. MAP's role was to monitor and co-ordinate the activity of the industry to maximise output, particularly of bombers, and intervene to remove inefficiency and bad practice where necessary. MAP officials with previous experience in large industries, and who knew more about factories and production lines than ministers and permanent civil servants, played a key role in this work. While Fraser was Director General, Cripps developed Joint Production Consultation Committees, set up in each aircraft factory to allow an exchange of views between managers and workers. These mirrored ICI labour relations policies, which had already recognised works councils for a number of years.
In 1945, Ben, later Sir Ben, Lockspeiser was appointed director-general.
Stories of the Battle of Britain 1940 – Lord Beaverbrook, a Week at the Office .
The first minister, Lord Beaverbrook, pushed for aircraft production to have priority over virtually all other types of munitions production for raw materials. This was needed in the summer and autumn of 1940, but it distorted the supply system of the war economy. It eventually came to be replaced by a quota system, with each supply ministry being allocated a certain amount of raw materials imports to be distributed amongst various projects within the ministries' purviews. Beaverbrook still continued to push hard for increases in aircraft production until he left the ministry to become Minister of Supply.
The result of this effort and management style was that while the number of German fighters available for operations over England fell from 725 to 275, the RAF's complement rose from 644 at the beginning of July 1940 to 732 at the beginning of October 1940.
- Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (14 May 1940 – 1 May 1941)
- John Moore-Brabazon (1 May 1941 – 22 February 1942)
- John Llewellin (22 February 1942 – 22 November 1942)
- Sir Stafford Cripps (22 November 1942 – 25 May 1945)
- Ernest Brown (25 May 1945 – 26 July 1945)
Controversially, under Beaverbrook's tenure the aircraft programs set bore little relation to actually expected aircraft production. Beaverbrook deliberately inserted an extra margin of 15% over and above the very best that British industry could be expected to produce. The extra margin was added to provide an out-of-reach target to British industry so that it would push as hard as possible to increase production. Only with the 'realistic' programme of 1943 was planned aircraft production brought back into line with volumes that could realistically be expected from British factories.
The Ministry was characterised by, for its time, highly unorthodox methods of management, including its initial location at Beaverbrook's home, Stornoway House. The personnel was personally recruited from outside the Air Ministry, interaction was informal, characterised by personal intervention, crisis management and application of willpower to improve output. "Few records were kept, the functions of most individuals were left undefined and business was conducted mainly over the telephone."
One important change made within days of the creation of the ministry was it taking over the RAF's storage units and Maintenance Units which were found to have accepted 1,000 aircraft from the industry, but issued only 650 to squadrons. These management and organisational changes bore results almost immediately: in the first four months of 1940, 2,729 aircraft were produced of which 638 were fighters, while in the following four months crucial to the Battle of Britain combat during May to August 1940, production rose to 4,578 aircraft, of which 1,875 were fighters. This production rate was two and a half times Germany's fighter production at the time. The ministry was additionally able to repair and return to service nearly 1,900 aircraft.
The Ministry was characterised by, for its time, highly unorthodox methods of management, including its initial location at Beaverbrook's home, Stornoway House. The personnel was personally recruited from outside the Air Ministry, interaction was informal, characterised by personal intervention, crisis management and application of willpower to improve output. "Few records were kept, the functions of most individuals were left undefined and business was conducted mainly over the telephone."
One important change made within days of the creation of the ministry was it taking over the RAF's storage units and Maintenance Units which were found to have accepted 1,000 aircraft from the industry, but issued only 650 to squadrons. These management and organisational changes bore results almost immediately: in the first four months of 1940, 2,729 aircraft were produced of which 638 were fighters, while in the following four months crucial to the Battle of Britain combat during May to August 1940, production rose to 4,578 aircraft, of which 1,875 were fighters. This production rate was two and a half times Germany's fighter production at the time. The ministry was additionally able to repair and return to service nearly 1,900 aircraft.
The result of this effort and management style was that while the number of German fighters available for operations over England fell from 725 to 275, the RAF's complement rose from 644 at the beginning of July 1940 to 732 at the beginning of October 1940.
Meiji Japan
.
How Europe Colonized Asia - Pacific War 1 - K&G > .22-12-16 Japan unveils biggest military build-up since World War 2 | DW > .22-10-15 Japan - national debt, liquidity trap vs artificial inflation - VisEco > .
0:00 Superpower successes, failures
1:05 Sakoku ("locked country")
2:28 American delegation & Meiji Restoration
6:39 Post-war
11:41 Later 20th century + "Lost Decade"
(2022 vs 1945) Could the US military invade Japan? Binkov > .
> I-P Coalition of the Willing >>
◊ Indo-Pacific ..
The Empire of Japan was a historical nation-state that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-WW2 1947 constitution and subsequent formation of modern Japan. It encompassed the Japanese archipelago and several colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories.
Under the slogans of Fukoku Kyōhei and Shokusan Kōgyō, Japan underwent a period of industrialization and militarization, the Meiji Restoration being the fastest modernisation of any country to date, all of these aspects contributed to Japan's emergence as a great power and the establishment of a colonial empire following the First Sino-Japanese War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Russo-Japanese War, and WW1. Economic and political turmoil in the 1920s, including the Great Depression, led to the rise of militarism, nationalism and totalitarianism, eventually culminating in Japan's membership in the Axis alliance and the conquest of a large part of the Asia-Pacific in World War II.
Japan's armed forces initially achieved large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and the Pacific War. However, starting from 1942, particularly after the Battles of Midway and Guadalcanal, Japan was forced to adopt a defensive stance, and the American island hopping campaign meant that Japan was slowly losing all of the territory it had gained, and eventually, the Americans captured Iwo Jima and Okinawa Island, leaving the Japanese mainland completely unprotected. The U.S. forces had planned an invasion, but Japan surrendered following the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan on August 9, 1945, and subsequent invasion of Manchuria and other territories, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Pacific War officially came to a close on September 2, 1945. A period of occupation by the Allies followed. In 1947, with American involvement, a new constitution was enacted, officially bringing the Empire of Japan to an end, and Japan's Imperial Army was replaced with the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Occupation and reconstruction continued until 1952, eventually forming the current constitutional monarchy known as Japan.
The Empire of Japan had three emperors, although it came to an end during Shōwa's reign. The emperors were given posthumous names, and the emperors are as follows: Emperor Meiji (1867–1912) (Mutsuhito), Emperor Taishō (1912–1926) (Yoshihito), and Emperor Shōwa (1926–1989) (Hirohito).
Under the slogans of Fukoku Kyōhei and Shokusan Kōgyō, Japan underwent a period of industrialization and militarization, the Meiji Restoration being the fastest modernisation of any country to date, all of these aspects contributed to Japan's emergence as a great power and the establishment of a colonial empire following the First Sino-Japanese War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Russo-Japanese War, and WW1. Economic and political turmoil in the 1920s, including the Great Depression, led to the rise of militarism, nationalism and totalitarianism, eventually culminating in Japan's membership in the Axis alliance and the conquest of a large part of the Asia-Pacific in World War II.
Japan's armed forces initially achieved large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and the Pacific War. However, starting from 1942, particularly after the Battles of Midway and Guadalcanal, Japan was forced to adopt a defensive stance, and the American island hopping campaign meant that Japan was slowly losing all of the territory it had gained, and eventually, the Americans captured Iwo Jima and Okinawa Island, leaving the Japanese mainland completely unprotected. The U.S. forces had planned an invasion, but Japan surrendered following the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan on August 9, 1945, and subsequent invasion of Manchuria and other territories, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Pacific War officially came to a close on September 2, 1945. A period of occupation by the Allies followed. In 1947, with American involvement, a new constitution was enacted, officially bringing the Empire of Japan to an end, and Japan's Imperial Army was replaced with the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Occupation and reconstruction continued until 1952, eventually forming the current constitutional monarchy known as Japan.
The Empire of Japan had three emperors, although it came to an end during Shōwa's reign. The emperors were given posthumous names, and the emperors are as follows: Emperor Meiji (1867–1912) (Mutsuhito), Emperor Taishō (1912–1926) (Yoshihito), and Emperor Shōwa (1926–1989) (Hirohito).
1:05 Sakoku ("locked country")
2:28 American delegation & Meiji Restoration
6:39 Post-war
11:41 Later 20th century + "Lost Decade"
Merkel, Angela
2021 How Germany's Angela Merkel stayed in power for so long | DW > .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23-4-18 Angela Merkel receives Germany's highest Order of Merit | DW > .25-2-11 "Triumph" of German Bureaucracy - Kraut > .
22-6-7 Angela Merkel on Ukraine, Pootin and her legacy | DW > .
21-11-7 Deutsch Interview with German Chancellor Angela Merkel - DW > .
21-10-10 What a Post-Merkel Germany Will Look Like - My Take > .
21-10-9 Germany's Post-Merkel Coalition (vs China) - Economist > .
21-9-23 Merkel departs: Political genius or world-class pragmatist? - DW > .
21-8-30 Angela Merkel Dealt Tough Hand as Germany's Chancellor - Bloomberg > .
2021 What will Angela Merkel's legacy be? | CNBC > .
2021 Angela Merkel's last trip to Washington after 16 years in office - BBC > .
2017 Angela Merkel’s rise to power, in five steps | Economist > .
2019 What Angela Merkel's exit means for Germany — and Europe - Vox > .
2018 What Angela Merkel Stepping Down Means For Germany (HBO) > .
2014 Meet The Putin Whisperer: Germany's Angela Merkel > .
Many people don't remember a Germany that wasn't run by Angela Merkel. Germans go to the polls again in late 2021, and Angela Merkel has already announced she won't run again. With no clear successor, a power vacuum is brewing in Berlin. The coming months will determine Merkel's legacy, and the future of Germany and Europe. So how did she get to where she is? How did she manage to stay in power for so long?
NATO
NATO
Funding NATO ..
21-8-26 Angela Merkel scores higher approval ratings than any other world leader: In six countries surveyed, outgoing chancellor is most appreciated for handling of German economy
Angela Dorothea Merkel (née Kasner; born 17 July 1954) is a German politician serving as the chancellor of Germany since 2005. She served as leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and as leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 2000 to 2018. A member of the Christian Democratic Union, Merkel is the first female chancellor of Germany. Merkel has been widely described as the de facto leader of the European Union and the most powerful woman in the world.
Merkel was born in Hamburg in then-West Germany, moving to East Germany as an infant when her father, a Lutheran clergyman, received a pastorate in Perleberg. She obtained a doctorate in quantum chemistry in 1986 and worked as a research scientist until 1989. Merkel entered politics in the wake of the Revolutions of 1989, briefly serving as deputy spokesperson for the first democratically elected East German Government led by Lothar de Maizière. Following German reunification in 1990, Merkel was elected to the Bundestag for the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. As the protégée of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Merkel was appointed as Minister for Women and Youth in 1991, later becoming Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in 1994. After the CDU lost the 1998 federal election, Merkel was elected CDU General Secretary, before becoming the party's first female leader two years later in the aftermath of a donations scandal that toppled Wolfgang Schäuble.
She was the Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005. Following the 2005 federal election, Merkel was appointed to succeed Gerhard Schröder as Chancellor of Germany, leading a grand coalition consisting of the CDU, its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Merkel is the first woman to be elected chancellor, and the first chancellor since German reunification to have been raised in the former East Germany. At the 2009 federal election, the CDU obtained the largest share of the vote, and Merkel was able to form a coalition government with the Free Democratic Party (FDP). In the 2013 federal election, Merkel's CDU won a landslide victory with 41.5% of the vote and formed a second grand coalition with the SPD, after the FDP lost all of its representation in the Bundestag. At the 2017 federal election, Merkel led the CDU to become the largest party for the fourth time, and was sworn in for a joint-record fourth term as Chancellor on 14 March 2018.
In foreign policy, Merkel has emphasized international cooperation, both in the context of the European Union and NATO, and strengthening transatlantic economic relations. In 2007, Merkel served as President of the European Council and played a central role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Lisbon and the Berlin Declaration. Merkel played a crucial role in managing the global financial crisis and the European debt crisis. She negotiated a stimulus package in 2008 focusing on infrastructure spending and public investment to counteract the Great Recession. In domestic policy, Merkel's "Energiewende" program has focused on future energy development, seeking to phase out nuclear power in Germany, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase renewable energy sources. Reforms to the Bundeswehr which abolished conscription, health care reform, and more recently her government's response to the 2010s migrant crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany have been major issues during her chancellorship. She has served as senior G7 leader since 2014, and previously from 2011 to 2012. In 2014 she became the longest-serving incumbent head of government in the European Union. In October 2018, Merkel announced that she would stand down as Leader of the CDU at the party convention, and would not seek a fifth term as Chancellor in 2021.
Merkel was born in Hamburg in then-West Germany, moving to East Germany as an infant when her father, a Lutheran clergyman, received a pastorate in Perleberg. She obtained a doctorate in quantum chemistry in 1986 and worked as a research scientist until 1989. Merkel entered politics in the wake of the Revolutions of 1989, briefly serving as deputy spokesperson for the first democratically elected East German Government led by Lothar de Maizière. Following German reunification in 1990, Merkel was elected to the Bundestag for the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. As the protégée of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Merkel was appointed as Minister for Women and Youth in 1991, later becoming Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in 1994. After the CDU lost the 1998 federal election, Merkel was elected CDU General Secretary, before becoming the party's first female leader two years later in the aftermath of a donations scandal that toppled Wolfgang Schäuble.
She was the Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005. Following the 2005 federal election, Merkel was appointed to succeed Gerhard Schröder as Chancellor of Germany, leading a grand coalition consisting of the CDU, its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Merkel is the first woman to be elected chancellor, and the first chancellor since German reunification to have been raised in the former East Germany. At the 2009 federal election, the CDU obtained the largest share of the vote, and Merkel was able to form a coalition government with the Free Democratic Party (FDP). In the 2013 federal election, Merkel's CDU won a landslide victory with 41.5% of the vote and formed a second grand coalition with the SPD, after the FDP lost all of its representation in the Bundestag. At the 2017 federal election, Merkel led the CDU to become the largest party for the fourth time, and was sworn in for a joint-record fourth term as Chancellor on 14 March 2018.
In foreign policy, Merkel has emphasized international cooperation, both in the context of the European Union and NATO, and strengthening transatlantic economic relations. In 2007, Merkel served as President of the European Council and played a central role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Lisbon and the Berlin Declaration. Merkel played a crucial role in managing the global financial crisis and the European debt crisis. She negotiated a stimulus package in 2008 focusing on infrastructure spending and public investment to counteract the Great Recession. In domestic policy, Merkel's "Energiewende" program has focused on future energy development, seeking to phase out nuclear power in Germany, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase renewable energy sources. Reforms to the Bundeswehr which abolished conscription, health care reform, and more recently her government's response to the 2010s migrant crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany have been major issues during her chancellorship. She has served as senior G7 leader since 2014, and previously from 2011 to 2012. In 2014 she became the longest-serving incumbent head of government in the European Union. In October 2018, Merkel announced that she would stand down as Leader of the CDU at the party convention, and would not seek a fifth term as Chancellor in 2021.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
sī vīs pācem, parā bellum
igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war sī vīs pācem, parā bellum if you wan...
