German Annalena Baerbock..a sports hero who loses the battle of her life
Just 5 months ago, Annalena Baerbock was seen as Angela Merkel's successor in the German Chancellery, and it was only a matter of time before she took office.
40-year-old Annalena Baerbock, after being nominated as the candidate of the Green Party (left) for the chancellorship last April, succeeded in boosting the party's popularity in an unprecedented way in its history, until it became first in opinion polls with 29% of voting intentions in early June last June.
But the trajectory of the ascent turned into a sad short story, and the party quickly fell into a state of free fall until it reached 15% of voting intentions only 3 days before the legislative elections scheduled for next Sunday, and occupies third place.
Between the rapid rise and the quicker fall, Annalena Baerbock's mistakes bear witness to the story of a young woman who touched her dream of ruling Germany, before it was shattered from her hands.
3 errors
Annalena Baerbock made 3 major mistakes that undermined the dream of ruling Germany, the first of which was the failure to record additional incomes that she obtained between 2018 and 2020, in addition to her membership in Parliament.
Annalena Baerbock did not register about 25,000 euros, which she received in the form of direct bonuses from the Green Party, as additional income in the administration of Parliament, until last March, which brought her criticism of the "unjustified delay in implementing the law."
Later, she received another 1,500 euros from her party as a stipend at the time of the new "Corona" pandemic, "without legal basis," according to the German newspaper Bild.
The story of the “Corona” benefit goes back to the German government’s decision months ago, to grant caregivers, nurses, supermarket cashiers and all workers in the first ranks at the time of the crisis, a tax-free benefit, estimated at 1,500 euros.
But Annalena Baerbock received this subsidy from the Green Party on the basis of her work as its head, and the party fund will carry this amount in full in 2020.
In addition, Annalena Baerbock presented her official biography to the voters, with a huge number of errors, which included activities and jobs that the young politician did not occupy, which exposed her to great criticism.
Finally, strong accusations of Barbrook of "literary plagiarism" in her book published last June, annihilated what remained of her hopes of returning to the top of the opinion polls, and the Green Party continued its decline until it stopped at 15% of voting intentions.
Sports champion
Probock is in the race to become a difficult figure in the file of forming the next ruling coalition and obtain the largest gains for her party, according to observers, after she was wishing to rule Germany, where she was a sports champion in her youth, and won three bronze medals in trampoline jumping championships.
Annalena Baerbock's character is very similar to that of Carla del Ponte, the former prosecutor of the International Criminal, and when those close to her want to describe her in only two words, they are: courage and determination.
In a press interview last December, Annalena Baerbock said plainly, "I trust myself to be the chancellor."
The young politician has no experience in governance; She has not held an executive position before, but has been a consultant in the European Parliament, then a member of the German Parliament since 2013, and head of the Green Party since 2018.
The woman, who is described as "courageous", according to German reports, is overwhelmingly popular in the bases of the Green Party, as she was re-elected as the party's president in 2019 with 97% of the votes. She is an expert in foreign and climate policy, and has long fought for the rights of women and children in Germany.
Annalena Baerbock is very well educated. She studied political science at the University of Hamburg between 2000 and 2004, then obtained an LLM in International Law from the London School of Economics in 2005, and trained at the British Institute of International Law.
Coinciding with the launch of her career in the Greens, Annalena Baerbock worked as a foreign policy consultant from 2008 to 2010.
