The Man Who Could Take Down Merkel

Jurgen Ruttgers, the powerful governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, currently holds the reins of German politics. He doesn't want anyone rocking the boat before crucial state elections in May and is hampering much-needed reforms. He could even pose a challenge to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

It isn't hard to get the prominent German politician Jurgen Ruttgers angry. In fact, all it takes is a single question, as a recent incident showed.

Ruttgers, who is the conservative governor of Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, had just schmoozed his way through his party's New Year's reception in the city of Gelsenkirchen. "Nice to see you," he said enthusiastically to his guests, speaking in the local dialect of German. Ruttgers was playing the role of the patriarchal state governor with gusto, showing that he was ready to listen to anyone, even for the head of the local community garden association.