Theresa May and Angela Merkel will be meeting today to discuss the UK’s preparations for Brexit. Both daughters of ministers, Stephen Moss has asked whether a ‘strong moral compass and ferocious work ethic’ is key to their success?
Moss said, “Merkel’s father, Horst, was a Lutheran pastor who was so committed to socialism that he moved his family from West to East Germany shortly after his daughter was born. May grew up in the less politically charged atmosphere of Wheatley in Oxfordshire, where her father was the local Church of England vicar. But the clerical background was important: friends say her father gave the young Theresa Brasier a “moral compass” and a puritanical streak.
“Also, being an only child – always “on show” as the daughter of the local vicar – and losing both her parents in her mid-20s made her grow up quickly, gave her an inner steeliness and created a politician whose unshowy style promises to be very different from the showboating of some of her predecessors.”
If you’re the child of a religious minister we’d like to hear from you. What was it like growing up? Have people made presumptions based on your upbringing? How has your experience shaped your world view?
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