A comparison of the Leader

image of Merkel and Thatcher

Francine Carron
 Background of Merkel and Thatcher
Merkel:
• Born in Hamburg grew up in East
Germany
• Daughter of Protestant Pastor
• Married twice no children
• Studied Physics and worked at Academy
of Sciences in East Germany
• Rose to power via party promotion
• In 1990 Minister of Women & Youth
• In 1994 Minister for the Environment
• In 2000 leader of CDU
• In 2005 1st Female Chancellor
• Became leader in economic turmoil
• Only woman in G8, only female head of
state in EU and NATO
Thatcher:
• Born Margaret, Hilda Roberts
• Daughter of Grocer who was active in
local politcs
• Married with 2 children, twins (Mark &
Carol)
• Studied Chemistry and Law worked
•Rose to power via party promotion
•1970-74: Secretary of State for Education
•1975 leader of conservative party
•1979 PM re-elected in 1983 & 1987
• 1st Female Prime Minister
• Became leader in economic turmoil
• Only woman in G8, only female head of
state in EU and NATO
 Physical Appearance of Merkel and Thatcher (1)

Merkel Before: Merkel After:

• No make up • More stylish haircut

• No nice clothes • Well put together clothes
• Hairstyle not modern • Power dressing
• “More in common with a sandal wearing • Pantsuits with low shoes
member of the green party than that of a • Bright colored Jackets
leader of the center right party”
• Didn’t’ care about looks
• Didn’t understand the power of image in
politics
• Political decision making prevails over
looks
• Was forced to have a make over
• Celebrity stylist Udo Walz
• “Important to transform her gradually not
to inspire ridicule”
Physical Appearance of Merkel and Thatcher (2)
 Physical Appearance of Merkel and Thatcher (4)
Thatcher Before:
• Image was not a big issue
• Understood quickly the power and
importance of image
• Old fashioned skirts
• Pseudo – upper class accent
• Hired a friend as fashion consultant
• Took speech classes from public relations
advisor Gordon Reece and Millar
Thatcher After:
• Dyed her hair very blonde
• Accentuated huskiness in the voice and
removed the accent
•Power dressing
• Feminine suits with matching jewelry,
black sexy nylons and high heeled shoes
Matched with a heavy purse
• Always smiles in a picture
• Always looked impeccable and thought it
was one’s responsibility to look polished
• “She would have had a facelift if she
lived in America”
• Wore Victorian shawls to cover up
wrinkled neck when getting old
Physical Appearance of Merkel and Thatcher (5)
 Personalities of Merkel and Thatcher (1)

Leadership is a function of personality.

Important aspects of leadership are to have

vision, values, will power, timing and the
ability to prioritize
 Personalities of Merkel and Thatcher (2)
Merkel :
• Extremely flexible, smart and tough
• Scientific approach to politics
• No nonsense
• VISION: Observes, analyzes and plans-
strategic thinker
• WILLPOWER: Very disciplined, Very
determined, Took career one step at a time
• TIMING: Well developed scene for
timing, always waits until the moment is
right, makes use of every opportunity
• PRIORITIZE: Election Campaign of
2005
• VALUES: 0
•Score : 4/5
•MASCULINE STYLE: She learned from
her the men’s mistakes and copied their
smart strategies
Thatcher:
•Strong leader , conviction leadership
•Quick mind, faster mouth
• Straightforward
• VISION: Ideas about strong economic
reform
• WILLPOWER: Get the job done,
thatcherism
• TIMING: Every moment is the right
moment – direct to the point, focus on fast,
quick and good results
•PRIORITIZE: Tackled first the important
problems
• VALUES: Morality, Methodist thinking
•Score: 5/5
•MASCULINE STYLE: “If you lead a country
like Britain, a strong country, a country which was
has taken a lead in world affairs in good times and in
bad, a country that is always reliable, then you have a
touch of iron about you”.
 The Gender aspect of Merkel and Thatcher’s Political
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: President of Liberia
Image
Tansu Giller: Turkey 1st female PM “ Iron Lady”
Golda Meier: Israel’s 1st female PM

• Female leaders invoke masculine styles

• Easier acceptance of Margaret Thatcher as 1st female PM then Angela Merkel (UK – history of
reigning queens)
• Eagly’s experiment: The Image Labels of Women

LABEL A: nice & warm but incompetent LABEL B: competent but unpleasant
Leaders labeled A cannot be leaders.

• Merkel was labeled A before she became Chancellor. In 1990 she was regarded as “naive and
harmless”, the media used to call her “the girl” , “das maidchen”.
• As Chancellor she received the B label- “old witch”, “Iron Frau”
• Thatcher always had the B label as she was from the beginning very confrontential
• Thatcher and Merkel rose to power through party promotion:

• 38 female PM and 27 female Presidents

• Studies of Whicker and Isaacs: The success of women obtaining ministerial =bypass the public
• The Public does not vote for women
 Conclusion
• Marketing of politics means the reduction of politics to marketable images.
• Voters rarely know or meet the candidate- they are the mediated images of
them.
• Leader image includes: physical appearance and personality. (Personality
includes leadership treats. )
• Thatcher is the historical example of the personalization of politics.
• Politicians that believe in policy above appearance are also obliged to adapt
their looks to be accepted amongst the public .
• In Western society today image prevails above decision making.
• Powerful female politicians have it harder with the concept of image then
men. They need to be intelligent and beautiful at the same time. When
female politicians wear the wrong outfit they are immediately treated with
disrespect in the media.
• Merkel and Thatcher are only compared because they are women in a man’s
world. In reality Thatcher has much more in common with Ronald Reagan,
they were literally soul mates.