praising the former military dictatorship and attacking minority groups. german chancellor plans to leave politics for good in three years a planned departure that may or may not happen in schedule already there is a list of candidates who want to replace merkel and they are not combining patients with virtues tonight the first reactions in germany and around the world as a political nears its i bring this is the day. of the local chancellor angela merkel has been the victim of our own policy their own political mistakes it is not an accident laurie. i believe that my position in international negotiations will not change a tool. she faced many challenges the migrants and the financial

crises she's never forgotten the values of europe and she leads a country with a lot of courage. you could say that i have more time to concentrate on my responsibilities as head of government. europe in order to be strong again must change its policy europe needs to understand why voters turn away from that lead us . also coming up tonight why choices in pets cars and coffee matter the choices at the ballot box understanding us voters one week before the midterm elections. and the democrats need to rouse together and actually put together properly candidates with platforms that aren't just. democratic parties also have to change because what it has done so far hasn't kept a lot of it's also held. men and women in power when it's also highlighted more diverse voices and how it onto its status but that's not going to

cut it anymore because it doesn't include enough. or we begin the day that around the world is being referred to as the date after her announcement it has been twenty four hours since german chancellor angela merkel told the country she will not seek reelection at the end of her term in two thousand and twenty one three more years before she exits the political stage it only took a few hours for several would be merkel replacements to throw their names into the ring and there is already a clear favorite according to a new spiegel online poll more germans would like to see friedrich mir take over from miracle as head of the conservative c.d.u. party later this year now the job of party leader usually goes hand in hand with becoming chancellor but before he left politics merits was considered miracles loudest rival within the conservative party could his return he said in the end of the miracle error or today as miracle attempted to carry on with the business of

being chancellor she was confronted with questions about not being chance. i believe that my position in international negotiations will not change at all. you could say i have more time to concentrate on my responsibilities as head of government and. as far as the list of possible candidates for the leadership of the c.d.u. is concerned as i said yesterday this is an open process i've learned in the past as chair of the party that you shouldn't get involved in the question of succession it just doesn't work so that's something i'm definitely not going to do so it's an open process different people have put themselves forward and we'll look at that and make a decision at the party conference in hamburg. that. all right that is the german

chancellor angela merkel there i'm joined now at the big table by griff witte he is the washington post bureau chief here in berlin his first time on the day with us griffiths good to have you here at the big table good to be here miracle we know my education is a physicist a scientist maybe would believe that in politics you can map out your departure from power you can announce that play and then carry it through do you think that miracle the politician believes in her own game i doubt that she actually believes that she's going to last twenty twenty one it's very hard to imagine that that's going to be the case when you look at the constellation of forces that are arrayed against her just the fact that she is her party is losing popularity she's had these blows in the regional elections it's very clear that she can't control her own party anymore and you have a very clear succession process that is underway whoever wins that december vote is going to want to move into the big chair pretty quick fast after after that afterwards i mean as soon as the story broke yesterday that she is planning to

leave politics i mean to her would be successors you know they came out of the woodwork immediately right that tells us that what the country is ready to move on well i think it tells you that you have a lot of people in the party who are very opportunistic and are eyeing that job and they've had a lot of time to think about whether they wanted that job and whether they are ready to take it on america's been in power for thirteen years she never really groomed to successor and so people who have been waiting in the wings wanting a shot of the job they they knew that their time was coming over and when it when it happened they have to pounce it's a very short period of time now between now and when this cd you'll be voting in december the writing about a month long campaign they're going have to move fast your newspaper yesterday was one of the first papers to list friedrich merits as a potential candidate to lead the c.d.u. with perhaps become the next chancellor he appears now according to the should we go online poll that we've seen tonight to be the favorite among. ns well perhaps

among all germans but we have a selection process that involves party members and insiders and so the real question is who do the insiders want and for them i think one big issue is do they want someone who is in the vein of an angle america or do they want someone who is going to be a rejection of her a different different approach for the party and if they want to different approach for the party they couldn't find someone who is more different perhaps than the merits he's someone who has been a real rival of hers and a real critic of hers through the years miracle she enjoys a lot of popularity around the world i mean anywhere you go if she's right there at the top of the list how do you explain in your reporting that within the country she is for some people the environment of everything that is wrong well i think she's she's polarizing at this point she's been in power for thirteen years she made some really big calls not least of which of course was the twenty fifteen decision on refugees and so you have in my country as well she's

a quite polarizing figure she's someone who a lot of republicans are very very critical of her don't like her i don't know how president trump feels personally about her but i would have been it's not a huge fan. i think a lot of liberals and democrats think she's a hero and she's a she's the opposite of trump she's now had to go to trump ism you know i mean i remember when george w. bush was president and he was very fond of uncle america and at that time there was this talk about any type of cleavage of seizure in us society regarding uncle americal but as you say that's no longer the case is that the trump impact on the perception of uncle americal i think it's the polarization of politics that we've seen around the world let's face it we live in a world where politics is fractured where you're either in one camp or the other and miracle is a very divisive figure she's a divisive figure in germany she's a division figure in the united. states she is you know in germany she tries to

cast herself as a centrist certainly and as someone who's the leader of a big tent peoples party but she's she's alienated a lot of a lot of folks and you know that the irony of the story of uncle americal is she comes in with the conservative c do you she then goes and co-ops a lot of the issues that the social democrats have usually represented takes those it makes them part of the of the center right and she stays in power for years and she and then at the end of her palm were that turns out to be a recipe for disaster well if it did take her for their teen years let's face it if you're if you're a democratically elected leader in the world who last thirteen years that's a pretty remarkable thing these days there aren't so many of those either the leaders after thirteen years they fall very hard very fast or they become dictators you don't stay on as a democratic leader for that long anymore the c.d.u. has a real choice they they have to decide whether they want someone who is a fresh face but is very much merkel esque or if they want to in a of their go in

a very different direction if they do go in a more conservative more emphasizing the right part of center right they have to also worry about alienating a lot of centrist voters and a lot of greens you know you've seen in elections and has really seen elections in of area that the green party is really a party on the rise that's picking up a lot of see the defectors so it's a very tricky calculation that the cd is going in there is it a story that is getting a lot of attention in the us i mean what we have here we do have this polarization of politics in germany but we the story is not just the rise of the for white the story is also the rise of the progressive greens in europe's strongest most important country is that getting the proper attention in the u.s. i think it is getting attention because the left across europe has been seen as so tired and so exhausted and there's been no energy on the left side of the spectrum in europe for. quite a number of years now and it's interesting that it is the green party at least in

germany and and in other places as well you've seen it in other lands and and belgium also that you have green parties that are that are rising that are that are showing that they have some life which you're not seeing in the old social democracy parties anywhere in europe right now merkel has always been praised for being an icon of stability in europe and in the world but she's been the transfer for thirteen years do you do you ever see in your reporting people saying that thirteen years that cannot be healthy for any democracy absolutely absolutely i mean it's there's a reason we have term limits the united states you can't stay in power for more than eight years f.d.r. did it but that was quite a quite a while ago but but there there needs to be any any democracy needs renewal and and you saw. saying that herself i mean she was very reflective when she talked the other day and in a way quite self-critical also saying i wasn't born chancellor i realize something

has to change and the time has come to move on and she's trying to orchestrate this transition in a way that allows her to go out gracefully and i think she wants to have the successor of her choice not someone like her marriage to who would be a repudiation of her but we will definitely see if she gets her wish come december griff with the berlin bureau chief for the washington post good to have you on the show thanks for coming in thanks so much brant. for more than any issue merkel's decision to open germany's doors to more than a million migrants three years ago as he sent her political decline fighting the causes of migration has since become a big priority for berlin well today merkel's government pledged a new development fund to tackle rampant unemployment in africa one of the main driving forces behind a new wave of migrants heading for your. just

a day after announcing she's to leave the political stage within three years angela merkel was back showing that for now she still at the heart of thinks germany is hosting african leaders as part of a drive to boost investment in the continent we have on your minds i want to send a clear signal today that a good and profitable neighborly relationship with africa is important to us because. we are neighbors we are partners and we europeans take a great interest in african countries having good economic prospects to the toughly here that's big he even. under development is a problem in many parts of africa and it's a key cause of the mass migration which is create new pressures in europe. the g twenty compact with africa program launched by germany a year ago aims to create jobs in africa and encourage young people to stay in

their home countries the current chairman of the african union says there are already signs it's working as a result of financial and in order form now for the gun union has achieved the savings of with her of percent. next budget and the member states paying a greater share of their be. germany has also launched an even closer partnership with a group of countries such as senegal morocco and ethiopia berlin is offering extra money but the support is dependent on reforms. you have fought on that farm and we want the african countries to carry out reform because the africans must do more themselves above all along good governance and combating corruption the part of these twelve countries are doing this there's one group of that we believe in economic cooperation because that's north but. the compact for africa has generated

new investment though some say progress is too slow and others question who benefits more africans all of western firms but the leaders gathered in berlin were clear that this public and private investment is a win win for both europe and its southern neighbors. and we can say without any equivocation that africa is indeed open for business. help for africa's economic development could be the right lesson from the migration flows of recent years and become a key part of medical his legacy. or the clock is ticking towards the u.s. mid-term elections although some have predicted a strong performance from the democrats next tuesday supporters are taking nothing for granted the party was shocked in splintered by president trump's victory over hillary clinton in two thousand and sixteen now many are asking what does the

democratic party stand for other than standing against the will draw. if there is a blue wave coming from washington it might look something like this during back having all the confirmation hearings for the u.s. supreme court angry activists of all genders and colors turned up to protest in numbers this is a key strategy the democrats have been banking on make people show up and party leaders are pushing the message that to restore democrats to office people especially women need to vote just let women know in america that their voices do matter that their vote the votes matter and that what they do with their time between now and a vendor absolutely matters is how do you think democrats may do in the midterms are you optimistic i think they will win. many democrats agree with gillibrand assessment they think voters are motivated and have just enough show up the democrats will have an easy victory. people are really fired people are angry and people are going to vote i do hope so i think that there's

a lot that needs to be done and i think hopefully this is mobilizing people to take some action i think that people need to get out. because the people are going to be the ones to change the tide. but it's a tale of two parties for everyone who's pushing voter turnout there are plenty wondering exactly what they're turning out for and the democrats need to rally together and actually put together proper candidates platforms that aren't and the democratic party is also have to change because what it has done so far hasn't kept a lot of it's also held. white men and women in power when they need to also highlight more diverse voices and hold on to a status quo that's not going to cut it anymore because it doesn't include enough people. what do the democrats stand for this has been the question the party has been unable to answer since the last in the twenty sixteen presidential elections and while the kavanaugh confirmation hearings may have activated the democratic

voting base it also riled up republicans the only thing that is sure the democrats cannot simply be the party of not trump. it's one thing to take advantage of the mood in parts of the country but analysts say that approach needs to be paired with a solid party platform professor jason moloch od american university in washington d.c. says that if democrats merely engage with trump style of politics they were grab it they need to come up with a different strategy and i think if they end up losing and not gaining any seats or gaining one or two but the republicans still have power they're going to have to think of it a different strategy going into the presidential election. and the trump feeling in the country didn't succeed in this case brett kavanaugh was confirmed it was a strong message to democratic party needs to give americans a reason to vote for it beyond not liking donald trump. with the u.s. midterm elections now just one week away everyone that anyone is wondering how can

we predict what voters will decide or to answer that question you need to answer a few more questions first so get your pin your paper your tablets ready it is pop quiz time question number one which would you rather have in your garage a prius or a pickup truck question number two where do you prefer to buy a cup of coffee at starbucks or dunkin donuts and question number three what kind of pet do you have a dog or cat it's. well my next guest tonight says that the answers to those and other questions can reveal a person's political for clytie including whether you are likely to vote democrat or republican his new book written with mark hetherington is in titled prius or pick up how the answers to four simple questions explain america's great divide.

well i'm happy to welcome to the day tonight from chapel hill north carolina jonathan weiler jonathan is professor of global studies in u.n.c. jonathan it's good to have you on the day cars coffees and head but what do you what do the answers to those questions i mean what do they reveal about people well so these questions about our cultural preferences of course we all have different cultural preferences re off different foods we all have different. tastes when it comes to what kinds of clothes we want to wear it cetera and under most circumstances under normal circumstances those kinds of preferences would just be normal you know it takes all kinds sorts of ways of thinking about humanity and what's happened in the united states really over the last generation or so has been a story process where people have very different personality types very different

views of the world very different views of diversity and inclusion have sorted themselves out into the republican and democratic parties minute anselmo in a way that have really intensified greatly the political divide in the united states in the your book jonathan you use the terms of fluid and fixed to describe world views and you you give those world views and we're looking at the now a human face that almost everyone will recognize you've got clint eastwood and jane fonda say you've got dirty harry versus hippy jane talk to me a little bit about how people fall into these two categories. yes i mean of course. clint eastwood. dirty harry and jane fonda are sort of the older american cultural icons which again suggests that you know

we've always said divisions different ways of thinking about the world different kinds of people and personality types there were attracted by. but it striking the degree to which politics today in the united states falls out along these lines and just to give you want example there was a question asked in twenty six to. which essentially said to people do you think the world is a big beautiful place mostly full of good people and safe to explore or do you think the world is a dangerous place and we need to guard ourselves against threats of all content and eighty percent of hillary clinton supporters answer the first way that the world is mostly a big beautiful place and eighty percent of donald trump supporters answered mostly the second place and again i think that really exemplifies the very different instincts at the heart of the political division more now wrestling into political

scientists and psychologists and journalists we've usually assume that those sixteen clint eastwood voters are the exception the outliers and not reflective of the majority or reflective of the mainstream but now we've got no trump being elected two years ago we've got a new trump white president just elected in brazil is it possible that we have been wrong with our assumptions about the majority. it it's a really good and important question and i think to a substantial degree the answer is yes and i don't want to overstate this and suggest that most people are fixed and only a very few people are fluid there is lots of not only fixed and fluid but people who are some of both we don't often neatly into these categories but it has been a from the perspective of this notion of

a liberal consensus which has long held sway in the west in general that liberal values of openness and tolerance were not only the predominant way of thinking about reality in the president or certainly the way of the future then what we found over the last you know generation or sound in recent years you mention brazil very strong showing for aft in germany a really lappin in france you know this is this is a widespread phenomenon and it does suggest. as as you as you suggest that the folks to support these kinds of farty these are not you know a fringe ally or by any mates what happens then jonathan if on next tuesday in the united states the republicans keep control of both elss of congress what will that tell us then about our perceptions of politics and the people well i'm i'm

going to be a little bit. maybe i'm going to show a little bit of poor judgment by making the prediction that what's most likely to happen next tuesday is that democrats will reach it will retake control of the house of representatives out of the republicans will maintain control the senate of course they're still going to control the presidency and what will face in the united states for the next couple of years is divided government. and i think that that will sort of reflect well what's happening in the country the very close to vision and there we now face and i think given the acrimony involved and the division in government itself i think we can expect very little in the way of sort of constructive policymaking to take place over the next couple of years or so i think we're almost out of time and i don't want to end if i'm

a dark moment so let me ask you what do you drive a prius or a pickup well i actually drive on to seven which is definitely in that for his family i should note however that several of my fluid friends have pointed out some may that they either are in a pickup truck because it's just a more practical via vehicle or they own a prius and a pickup truck that's right those peoples are just as well or they could be like some of us here in berlin and they can only either and own a bicycle johnson while or twenty percent that's a concept here and. joining us tonight from chapel hill at the university of north carolina author of prius or pick up john thank you we appreciate you taking the time to be on the show tonight thanks so much for having. well the day continues online if you know where to find us and don't forget whatever happens between now and benchmark is another day we'll see you going to the.

once upon a time. there was a place full of. and core ac characters. puppet theater halls in fear of the night. on its thirtieth anniversary the puppets are still showing off their talents.

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