[War] Germany: "Einen Neuen Anfang"

Thu May 24 15:26:29 EDT 2007

"Einen Neuen Anfang"
Federal Republic of Germany

Chancellor Lukas Lehmann

March 1st, 2013

--------------------------

There had been an interesting change in German politics recently; a change of government, and, as many anticipated a change of direction. The corridors of power often bowed to surprising twists, and the German electorate was no different to the rest of the world when it came to delivering such a twist. The Christian Democratic Union, once a towering political party over Germany was left in full retreat, licking its wounds from over estimating what the German people wanted: they were scared, paranoid, unhappy with feeling isolated in their own country. They had swung the pendulum too far in the other direction, by tightening terrorism laws, closing borders and pulling back from the EU.

As a result, the German people ousted the CDU in early February 2013. They were, as far as the 'New' Social Democratic Party was concerned, out of touch and now, out of government. Germany was to be governed by a centrist government; one with a bias that would reverse the CDU's bordering far right, paranoid, controlling decisions. Little was known however of its new leader, a relatively unknown politician. Charismatic and youthful he secured votes, but people did not always fully understand whom they were voting for. A stylish politician who behaved well in public, the new German Chancellor was unknown to the German electorate and to the world stage up until April last year. He was dubbed authoritative, demanding and slick. Reportedly, a strong willed individual, he enjoyed exercising complete control in influencing policy decisions.

This man now occupied the most important position in the German Government.

*

[EVENING OF MARCH 1st]

[GERMAN GOVERNMENT AIRPLANE]

The Harz Mountains from a high altitude was a very consoling, breath taking sight, particularly when flying at high speeds. It was one of the many picturesque German landscapes to the south of the country, and was, quite simply, beautiful. The aircraft carrying the newly elected Chancellor of Germany swept over the clouds, having taken off from Bonn merely minutes ago.

The aircraft, an A310 used for transport of the German Government, was headed for the capital where the Chancellor had planned to meet with his new cabinet. He had requested it be tomorrow to coincide with his previous two days touring suburbs, giving controversial policy speeches to both the public and party activists. The aim of the meeting was to allow the cabinet to meet in private at the Chancellors official residence, away from the political critics and journalists, where they could achieve high-level debate and policy decisions. 

"Your water, Chancellor," Lehmann opened his eyes, smiling to thank the flight attendant and taking the glass. He had unknowingly fallen asleep, tired from his day of PR exercising and of giving speeches. The past six hours he had spent in the south of Germany, meeting with Federal Council leaders and the public. It was a cleverly crafted PR campaign, drafted by his PR 'Guru' Hans Roserlinger, other wise known as his Director of Communications.

Lehmann leant back in his seat, drifting into a semi-conscious state of fatigue. The thoughts of the past few days ran through his head. He hadn't been allowed much time to rest, constantly travelling from venue to venue, giving speech after speech, and speaking with politician after politician. Lukas was exhausted.

As he sat next to Hans, who was typically buried in his work, he cast his mind back to the election campaign. It was adventurous of him to have thought that he would make Chancellor, that he was the man to lead the SDP to victory. He was relentless during the election, never admitting that he wanted anything less than to govern Germany. Such memories, however, seemed a long time ago, especially when compared with the challenges ahead. 

A stubborn man at times, Lehmann is seen by many who work with him as strong willed and determined. In his own words to cabinet, "his decisions were final, his wishes second only to those of the German people." Reflecting this, some in his party view him as an arrogant figure, inflated only by his election success. They only keep quiet their criticism because of Lehmann's power and popularity within the party. Nevertheless, it did not necessarily mean he did not listen. To activists, he was a miracle worker, transforming the SDP to an elect able party once again. 

As a man that had only been a household name for a year, he had carefully constructed his rise to power. He worked as a history teacher initially, after having studied history at the University of Munich. Elected during the defeat of the SDP to Merkel in 2005 (as an SDP candidate) at the relatively young age of 36, he began to make important friends during his days as a junior member in the Bundestag. Building support behind the scenes, he played to the favours of those high within the SDP, attracting trust and support. He had worked in the SDP's policy unit for a number of years before being elected as leader of the party, forming close bonds with leaders and senior figures alike. The intelligence and skill of Hans Roserlinger in forming his image, combined with his popular party support saw him elected as leader in April 2012. Within days, the change had begun. Lehmann carefully forced die-hard socialists out discretely, changing the party's constitution and moving it toward centre ground to match his ideologies. 

The Chancellors private life was also used as a means to polish his image. Often described as a family man, he married his wife, Meika Meyer, a Berlin court lawyer in 1999. His politics rarely crossed over into his family life, often seen as caring husband, and, as of 2006, a caring father. His children demand much of his time and thoughts, committed to keeping his family out of the media and out of politics. He expects himself to be criticised and haunted by the press, but he cannot tolerate the same happening to his family.

The second eldest and only male, he was born into a family with three other sisters, growing up in West Germany, Stuttgart. Particularly close to his sisters as a child and in later life, he was to suffer one of the most turbulent times in his life in 2010. His sister, Anneliese, was fatally injured in a road traffic accident in Berlin, sadly dying in November of that same year. She was a lawyer, returning from court in the midst of rush hour. Little is known in the public domain about her death, except that it was an unfortunate accident.

His family was hit extremely hard, and Lukas returned to Stuttgart for several months to support them. His wife and two children moved there permanently in December of the same year to assist his aging mother and father. When his sister died, he was still unknown to the public as a politician, and took the decision to keep the news quiet, with many not finding out until his victory as SDP leader.

The tragedy had affected Lukas particularly badly. For a while, he contemplated resigning from the Bundestag, taking a break from his career to support his family. 

By 2011 however, any thought of him resigning was long gone. He did what he thought his sister would have wanted: the two were very close, and he knew she would not have wanted him to throw away his career. There is rarely a time when he does not remember Anneliese, her death having changed his outlook on life. He keeps his friends, and more importantly his family, close. Particularly his nephew, that was only eight when he lost his mother. 

Not an easily trusting man, it takes a lot to gain his support, even more to gain his trust. The Chancellor is seen as a very offensive political figure, reaching out and taking what he wants. Unwilling to simply sit back, it is his nature to take the lead in discussions and to dominate. Although a polite man, very few people can truly understand him and the way he works. His small circle of loyal trusted supporters and friends influences him greatly. It was to these supporters that he was to award with ministerial and senior party positions once elected. 

"Sir, your evening paper." The young flight assistant handed the Chancellor his paper. Lukas took it and placed it down on his lap, distracting him from his thoughts. The Chancellor smiled, and although he had a 'tough' reputation, he could not tolerate bad manners. The plane was still an hour away from Berlin, and Lukas had enough time to waste. There was little he could do on the plane to prepare for tomorrow, and so, for now, all he wanted to concentrate on was relaxing.

Leaning back into his seat, he looked out the window. The landscape of the mountains had almost entirely disappeared: in the distance, the tops of the mountains peaked above the clouds. Directly below, the Harz landscape was replaced by the roads and infrastructure of a modern day city, all of which set the Chancellor thinking.

'What did he hope to achieve now he had been gifted the chance to lead?' He had known for a long time how he would govern what he believed to be the greatest country in the world, but the buildings and people below, set his mind thinking. He hoped for economic growth, social cohesion, and greater dominance on the international stage: what every leader wants for their country. More importantly, however, he wanted Germans to feel pride in their country. They still did have the largest economy in Europe, albeit weakened, and were still considered an international power. Nevertheless, that was not good enough for the new Chancellor: he wanted the impossible in many people's eyes. Furthermore, he was prepared to use all the means at his disposal to get what he wanted.

ACTIONS

1. Introduce Lukas Lehmann as the new Chancellor of Germany! :-)
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