Angela Merkel's Finance Minister Compared Her Leadership Style To Napoleon's

One of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's closest political allies has compared her leadership approach to Napoleon Bonaparte's.

Wolfgang Schaeuble, Germany's finance minister, told Sueddeutsche Zeitung that Merkel's leadership style "isn't as enthusiasm-inspiring as Napoleon's - but more successful." He also said she had a "highly personal, non-confrontational style".

Napoleon, the first emperor of France, effectively ruled client states in a lot of southern Europe during the early 19th century.

A recent poll showed that a majority of Germans want Merkel, who will celebrate her tenth year as Germany's Chancellor in 2015, to stay on for a fourth term. That would be quite an achievement since her third term doesn't expire until 2017.

By the end of next year, Merkel will have been Chancellor for longer than Napoleon was Emperor of France. But she would need a fifth term to unseat Otto Von Bismarck as the longest-serving chancellor of Germany.