Angela Merkel defends George W Bush over awkward G7 massage photo

Angela Merkel is coming to George W. Bush’s defense after over an awkward photograph where he appeared to be giving her a back massage at the G7.

The former Chancellor’s new autobiography Freedom shares her life story, along with several of her experiences as leader of Germany from 2005 through 2021.

One moment Merkel detailed was when former President Bush raised eyebrows when be caused her to stiffen when rubbing her neck during a meeting between world leaders.

The moment in 2006 happened in St. Petersburg when the G7 was known as the G8 when Russia temporarily joined the group that also includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K and the U.S.

The viral moment was seen as an inappropriate physical contact by the U.S. president, but Merkel defended her friend.

‘The scene with the shoulder grab that went around the world is a very good example of the fact that the context is always important in such moments,’ Merkel wrote in her new book.

‘Bush and I, however, had basic trust in each other and have now experienced how misleading images can be when they are detached from the place and the people involved.’

She concluded: ‘It was a joke, not meant to intimidate or belittle me, but just a bit of fun in the midst of dry and serious deliberations. Bush and I liked and respected each other.’ 

Merkel also talked about another viral moment at the G7 with then-President Barack Obama  in 2015 in Germany where she said she was not angry, just recounting the size of a beach chair 

Merkel writes that she had ‘expected anything in that second, but not that’ and says she threw her arms up ‘in shock’ as Bush put his hands on her shoulders, but clarifies that ‘not for one moment’ did she regard Bush’s actions as anything other than a jape.

This is just one of the few stories Merkel is sharing insight into in her new book.

She also spoke about the photo that went viral of her and former President Barack Obama where she looked angry with outstretched arms while speaking with him sitting on a bench at the G7 summit in her home country in 2015.

According to the former German leader, she was merely recounting the size of a beach chair.

Merkel has revealed in her new memoirs the sexism she faced during her time as Germany ‘s chancellor – including how a photographer once lay on the floor under a table trying to take photos of her ‘wonky’ shoes.

The autobiography details her birth in East Germany and her rise to the top of global politics – and lifts the lid on her various encounters with royalty and world leaders, including the moment was surprised by Bush with a massage at the G8 summit nearly two decades ago.

She said the moment was not sexist, as some perceived it.

But Merkel did reveal how she was subjected to constant comments about her approach to fashion, including her work attire and her hair style.

The now 70-year-old, who was Chancellor for 16 years and 16 days, says she was aware of jokes that circulated about her.

One chapter recounts how a female photographer once ‘hurled’ herself to the floor to try and take shots of Merkel’s crooked shoes; elsewhere, she discusses the trouser suits that she became famous for wearing and how she ditched skirts and dresses almost entirely during her time in power. 

Then-President George W. Bush also puts his hands on the shoulders of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Stralsund on July 13, 2006 during a two-day visit to Germany

Donald Trump’s apparent defiance in the face of Ms Merkel – famously captured in this 2018 photo taken at the G7 summit in Canada – is also touched upon, with the former German Chancellor saying America’s president-elect views every encounter as a competition

Merkel at the opening of the Oslo Opera House in Norway in 2008; she became known for her affection for practical trouser suits but did occasionally don glad rags during her time in office

Donald Trump also features in the memoir, as Merkel recounts how he flung two Starburst sweets across a table at her during the G7 summit in Canada in 2018, saying: ‘Here, Angela, so you can’t say I never gave you anything’.

A famous photo shows Trump, arms crossed, looking defiant as other world leaders surround him, but the former German Chancellor plays down the incident, saying Trump was showing his annoyance at how many German cars were in New York and that she came to realise America’s President Elect views every encounter as a ‘competition’. 

She revealed how she scolded herself for prompting him to shake her hand in front of cameras when they met in 2017 before realising his rudeness was deliberate.

‘He wanted to create conversation fodder through his behaviour,’ she writes, while she was acting ‘as though I were having a discussion with someone completely normal’.

She concluded from her Washington visit: ‘There could be no cooperative work for an interconnected world with Trump.’

Gender-based comments that did get to her included jokes about her hair and frequent remarks about the colour and style of her clothes, including her fondness for cardigans and skirts while she served in the German cabinet. 

Trump was keen on creating ‘conversation fodder through his behaviour’, says Merkel; the pair pictured in 2019 at the G7 summit in Biarritz

Merkel’s book covers her life from 1954, including being born in what was then East Germany, to 2021

President Vladimir Putin (R) and then Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel giving a joint press conference after their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow in January 2020

Merkel’s memoir follows her climb from childhood in the German Democratic Republic and memories of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to becoming Chancellor in 2005.

She also shares recollections of her meetings and conversations with some of the world’s most powerful people, and passes judgements on her experiences of leaders from the likes of Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

‘He saw everything from the perspective of the property developer he was before entering politics,’ she wrote of President-elect Trump, now returning to the top role in January.

‘Each parcel of land could only be sold once, and if he didn’t get it someone else did. That’s how he saw the world.’

She wrote how Trump did not shake her hand for photographers at a White House meeting in 2017 even after she whispered to him that they should. 

‘As soon as I said that, I shook my head inwardly at myself. How could I have forgotten that Trump knew exactly what effect he wanted to achieve.’

She also suggested Trump was intrigued by Putin, with whom he spoke numerous times as President. 

‘[Trump] was obviously very fascinated by the Russian president,’ Merkel assessed. ‘In the years that followed I had the impression that politicians with autocratic and dictatorial traits captivated him.’

‘We talked on two different levels. Trump on an emotional level, me on a factual one,’ she continued. ‘For him, all countries were in competition with each other, in which the success of one was the failure of the other.’

‘He did not believe that co-operation could increase the prosperity of all.’