THE Berlin Wall stood for 28 years, two months and 27 days; as of this week it has been down for longer. Just as Germany's "post-Wall" era has come to an end, so the cosy politics of the past three decades looks as if it is running out of inspiration. On February 6th news came that the Christian Democrat alliance (cdu/csu) and the Social Democrats (spd), had agreed on yet another grand coalition. Germany is desperate for political renewal, but all that its politicians have been able to come up with is a dreary sort of continuity that has left everyone unhappy.
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