A GOOD MODEL:

In British terms, Scholz is more of a Gordon Brown than a Tony Blair. He has been a reliable Finance Minister, who has guided the Federal Republic's  through the pandemic with his reputation intact. Even so, his successor in that role, Christian Lindner, will have his work cut out to allay German angst about rising inflation , now at 6 per cent -- higher than at any time since the 1970s. It is a shrewd move by the new Chancellor to make the leader of the most Right-leaning party in the coalition responsible for the nation's finances. He will resist moves to raise taxes or lose control of public spending -- but radicals will blame Lindner rather than Scholz.

Germany, then, will continue to be a powerful force for economic stability and orthodoxy in the concert of Europe -- with one exception. On climate change, the new coalition has agreed to spend unprecedented sums to speed up the transition to a net zero economy. Coal will be phased out by 2030, much sooner than had been envisaged, and the sale of new petrol or diesel vehicles will be banned soon afterwards. Germany, which once pioneered environmental politics but in recent years has fallen behind on carbon emissions, will now redouble its efforts to lead Europe towards a green utopia.

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