Germany's first female chancellor, Angela Merkel, has spoken about her rise to the top, rejecting accusations that she ruthlessly pushed aside male rivals as 'baseless.'

The 'male-killing Merkel' label emerged in German political commentary during Merkel's rise inside the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU). It referred to the fact that several powerful male rivals or mentors saw their careers falter while Merkel advanced, including former Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

During the CDU donations scandal in 1999, Merkel publicly distanced herself from Kohl in a newspaper article that helped end his dominance over the party. High-ranking conservative Wolfgang Schäuble also saw his position weakened during the same scandal.

Asked about the characterization, which also referred to her early power struggle with current Chancellor Friedrich Merz, she told Focus magazine: 'Whatever I did, I was always put in relation to a man again. I found that strange, but later it subsided. I honestly consider it absurd.'

Merkel added: 'Men constantly push other men out of the way. And when a woman does it, when she claims the path to a position for herself in exactly the same way as a man, then people speak of 'male-killing Merkel.' From my perspective that is completely baseless.'

Merkel, who served as chancellor from 2005 to 2021, has largely withdrawn into private life. She said she still keeps a mobile phone on her bedside table, though not because of the news, but because she no longer fears middle-of-the-night calls about political matters.

Source: www.dw.com