Economics
Merkel, Seeking Secret Files in 2005, Found Berlusconi's Watches
- Chancellor shares stage with predecessor at book event
- Credits Schroeder with helping spur Germany's economy
Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, looks at her wristwatch during a news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Monday, Sept. 7, 2015.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Angela Merkel wanted the secret files when she took office and got a stash of Silvio Berlusconi’s watches instead.
So said Gerhard Schroeder, her predecessor as chancellor, as he and Merkel shared the stage at a book launch and traded memories of the day in November 2005 when she took office in Berlin. While Merkel credited Schroeder’s labor-market overhaul with spurring Europe’s biggest economy, the former chancellor recalled a lighter moment.