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Perhaps something was lost in the translation. But Angela Merkel's victory speech did lack a certain rhetorical flourish. The German chancellor will remain the most powerful woman on the planet. Indeed she will be rather more powerful now that she is able to govern with coalition partners who share her beliefs. She wants a new government in place before the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall on 9 November.

With her Christian Democrats (CDU) sharing power with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) she will be set free to pursue policies of smaller government "“ no longer hampered by the "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats.

Yet in heralding this bold new direction, while she looked happy she was also thoroughly down to earth. She told supporters on her...