German leader Angela Merkel is admired for her ability to deal with all world leaders including Vladimir Putin, one of the world’s reputed "tough guys". Putin, then a high-level Russian KGB operative, and Merkel, then a scientist, share a background from an earlier life when they were residents of Dresden, East Germany during the Cold War.
Merkel was the first person from the former East Germany to become chancellor of Germany. Now Putin and Merkel as leaders talk often and their shared background was often on display in meetings. For example, they often followed the practice of switching between German and Russian within the same conversation.
On one occasion Putin suggested they meet at his personal residence in Sochi for a high-level negotiation. As Chancellor Merkel and the entourage approached his residence, Putin’s dogs made a threatening move towards Merkel who was known to hold a mortal fear of dogs. Putin, smirking, allowed them to charge and then backed them off. Reporters and officials gathered around Merkel expressing concern for her well-being. Though shaken, Merkel was not about to be thrown off her negotiation goal.
She shared her insight into the matter: I understand why he does those things. Russia has nothing. It has no economy and no politics. He is afraid of his own weaknesses. Instead of returning an attack on him like leaving the meeting, Merkel shared her understanding of what could be Putin’s motivation in the negotiation. Her view like many others is that the best deals are the ones where both get what they need.
For example, Putin seems to have achieved what he needed. POTUS was bragging how Putin beat Merkel in their negotiations. If she was asked, then it is easy to imagine Merkel’s response being how pleased she is that both sides got what they needed. She knows she did.
When hardliners and threats are in play, the best chance for agreement is to help them find a way out. As for Putin, sometimes all you need from the negotiation is to just look like you are the "tough guy". Last year during the European meetings the then UK prime minister, Theresa May, was playing the "tough guy" schtick toward the EU with ultimatums, pre-conditions and the like. May expressed her views forcefully, short of letting the dogs out. Prior to the meetings France’s Emmanuel Macron and other leaders decided that it was time to respond to the UK’s tough positions by being equally tough. After the meeting was over, it was reassuring to hear the opposite position was taken with European leaders expressing the wish to continue to meet the needs of both sides.
One reporter suggested Merkel had a lot to say in the meeting. When reporters asked for her views on the impasse, Merkel reminded them in a BBC interview that the best solution is not always seen in the beginning so she looked forward to continue working on finding a solution. The UK and the EU are at it again this year with a new UK "tough guy" and Merkel at the helm of the European group. This is one her last gigs before she leaves the world stage.
The "tough guys" seem to get most of the press and maybe that’s appropriate. The "tough guy" is the exception. That is newsworthy like a story about an animal that has escaped from the zoo is newsworthy. There are lots of Merkel types getting it done every day in business, politics or anywhere someone needs something from someone else. Adam Grant had an article in the NY Times (March 27, 2020) sharing research that suggests that it only takes one side to be a ‘Merkel type’ (intelligent) negotiator in the room to raise the quality of the agreement for both sides. Grant’s article also makes the case that it is the givers, not the takers who are winning the same way
Merkel does. Beyond the good feeling of imagining our leaders going out there and givin’ ‘em hell, not much else is accomplished by the tough guy.
Tim Carroll is an associate professor at the UPEI's school of business and a former MLA and agriculture minister for the government of P.E.I.
