Jonah, that’s good news indeed, but anyone who is expecting Merkel to become a Frau Thatcher will be disappointed. Outside parts of the FDP, the constituency for radical free market reform in Germany simply does not exist in any meaningful form, and even if it did (and even if Merkel wanted to introduce such reforms) the realities of coalition government with Socialists under threat from the new ‘Left Party’ will make real change an impossibility.

It’s great to see Schroeder go. And, yes, Merkel’s government is likely to be more pro-American than its predecessor. Neverheless, the stein remains half-empty.