"Deutschlands Schicksal liegt in Weibes Hand" writes erphschwester. (Germany's fate is in the hands of a woman) And the world wants to know just who this woman - who came from nowhere to lead the world's third largest economy - really is; a woman who leaves other women (except Alice Schwarzer) cold and indifferent.
The New York Times has front-page coverage of the deal that handed Merkel the chancellery, and in a profile discusses her ambivalent style that alienated so many German voters:
Even in victory, though, she remains less popular personally than the avuncular Mr. Schröder. In part, that has to do with her stubborn refusal to turn herself into a symbol - either of East Germany and its reunification with the West, or of women and their changing role in German society.
Eastern Germans yearning for an advocate have been disappointed by how little she focuses on their plight. Women did not turn out to vote in droves to show solidarity with her precedent-setting career.
"She is a stranger to most Germans," Mr. Langguth said, explaining why she faded in the election. "Many East Germans think of her as a West German, while West Germans think she is an East German."
And the Boston Globe - also in a front-page article - discusses the rough edges of Merkel's public persona:
But if Merkel possesses the same sort of indomitable conservative will as the ''Iron Lady," she boasts little of Thatcher's gravitas. She is uncharismatic, uncomfortable in public situatiuons, and comes across as awkward and inarticulate when meeting the news media, a chore that she plainly dislikes. ''The gray mouse," one German newspaper calls her.
Finally, for Ralf Neukirch in Der Spiegel, Merkel is simply The Stranger - Die Fremde - who could have capitalized on her own incredible personal story but refused to do so, and therefore allowed her opponents to define her:
Das öffentliche Bild von ihr haben vor allem die Gegner gezeichnet. Dabei könnte Merkel ihr Leben als Heldenepos erzählen: die Außenseiterin aus dem Osten, deren Aufstieg gegen jede Wahrscheinlichkeit erfolgte, schließlich die Aussicht auf den Gipfel. Daraus ließe sich etwas machen.
Sie hat es nie versucht, sie ist keine Geschichtenerzählerin. Geht es um ihr Leben, ist sie zurückhaltend, fast scheu. Ihre Widersacher in der Partei hatten es leicht, eine andere Geschichte zu verbreiten. Sie handelt von einer kalten Opportunistin, die sich skrupellos nach oben geboxt hat ohne emotionale Bindung an die Partei.
But she always managed to defy her critics. Will she be able to do so now?
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