events for europe since she assumed the chancellorship almost 16 years ago. many people are reflecting on what her leadership brought and didn t bring to her country and her continent. many others are looking at the post-merkel future. i want to do both with kati marton, journalist and author whose terrific new book about merkel has just been published. it s called the chancellor. welcome, kati. first i want to ask you about writing about somebody who is so private. i remember when time chose her as person of the year, they had to use a painting of her on the cover because she would not sit for a photograph, and i remember asking the editor of time, nancy gibbs at the time, when was the last time somebody wouldn t sit let alone an interview, wouldn t even sit for a photograph? she said i think it was ayatollah khomeini in 1978 or 79. so this is an extraordinarily guarded person.
whose terrific new book about merkel has just been published. it s called the chancellor. welcome, kati. first i want to ask you about writing about somebody who is so private. i remember when time chose her as person of the year, they had to use a painting of her on the cover because she would not sit for a photograph, and i remember asking the editor of time, nancy gibbs at the time, when was the last time somebody wouldn t sit let alone an interview, wouldn t even sit for a photograph? she said i think it was ayatollah khomeini in 1978 or 79. so this is an extraordinarily guarded person. did that how did you get through? well, you re absolutely right, she is the most private public person in the world, i would say. and, of course, that made it the ever-est of writing politics