Last month the memoir of the former Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel was published. The occasion was used to warm up old propaganda stories:

Putin exploited my fear of dogs in his power games, says Angela Merkel – Telegraph, Nov 21 2024
Former German chancellor lifts the lid on her encounters with world leaders in memoir

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Angela Merkel has accused Vladimir Putin of exploiting her fear of dogs as part of his “power games” during a meeting with her at his Black Sea resort.

In extracts from her book Freiheit [Freedom], published by German newspaper Die Zeit, the former German chancellor said the encounter was typical of the Russian leader’s tactics.

Mrs Merkel was referring to their notorious meeting in Sochi in 2007, when Putin had Koni, his black labrador, enter the room – despite Mrs Merkel’s reported dislike of the animals.

Mrs Merkel, who is said to have been afraid of dogs since being bitten by one in 1995, wrote that Putin was “always on his guard to avoid being treated badly and always ready to dish it out, including power games with dogs and making others wait for him”.

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One wonders why Merkel keeps lying about the dog episode with Putin. It had happened in 2007 when there were excellent relations between them.

In 2016 Putin claimed that he had apologized for it:

“I wanted to do something nice for her,” he told the newspaper, in an interview published Monday.

“When I found out that she doesn’t like dogs, of course I apologized.”

Putin’s treatment of Merkel, in office for less than two years at the time, reportedly rankled the German press corps.

One wonders who in the German press corps was paid by whom to feel 'rankled' by this.

In August 2016 Merkel met with Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at Ferrari park in Maranello, Italy. The local police's rescue dog Leo, a black Labrador, was waiting to welcome her.

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Merkel was so afraid that she did not mind to be licked …

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… and even shook hands with it.

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How come I have yet to see any headlines about Merkel's dog fears in Italy?

Why did that incident not 'rankle the German press corps'?

I have not read Merkel's memoir but someone in the known assures me that it does not mention how Matteo Renzi's 'power games with dogs' influenced her relations with him.

This is just one of the small stories to keep in mind when the Mighty Wurlitzer plays its daily tunes for you.

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h/t Strana