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Media assessments of the Grand Coalition’s first year in office were mixed. While one commentator from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung described the Grand Coalition as an “all-too faithful reflection of German society with its antagonistic but well-organized interests and interest groups,” Spiegel magazine, in its cover story, emphasized the weaknesses of the leadership provided by Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and Vice Chancellor Franz Müntefering (SPD). Merkel’s moderate and compromise-ready style left Germans unsure of her ability to set a clear political course. In its customarily trenchant style, Spiegel called the Grand Coalition a “coalition of the weak” and dubbed Merkel “Angela the Faint-Hearted.” The cover portrayed Merkel as Don Quixote and Müntefering as Sancho Pansa – an allusion to Cervantes’ classic novel. Illustration: Daniel Adel.
© Der Spiegel |
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