German politics. Sensible singers looking for a song

Germany's new ministers look decent and worthy--but first they must learn to sing the same tune

IF COMPETENCE and arrogance go together, then Joschka Fischer, Germany's outgoing Green foreign minister, is a prime example. In a valedictory interview, after saying last month that he no longer would be his party's front man, he could not resist boasting. "I was one of the last live rock'n'rollers in German politics", he said. "Now, in all parties, the playback generation is taking over."

He had a point: Germany's new government, now complete with the nomination of the last ministers on October 17th, is anything but a rock'n'roll band. Yet it is no mere combo of playback politicians either. Perhaps the best metaphor, for the cabinet's inner circle, is an ensemble of solid studio musicians. They may yet prove to be the right line-up for the grand coalition of Christian Democrats (CDU), its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD) as it starts composing a political agenda.

At any rate, the contrast could not be starker with the outgoing cabinet, dominated by men with pop-star-sized egos: Mr Fischer and Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, of course, but also Otto Schily and Wolfgang Clement, the interior and economics ministers respectively. They seemed keener on self-promotion than on "the slow drilling of hard boards", to quote a famous definition of politics by the father of German social thought, Max Weber.

The new government (see table) has an entirely different style. It exemplifies what Wolfgang Nowak, of the Alfred Herrhausen Society, a think-tank, has called the "new rationality": most of the ministers are unexciting but capable. The only one who has the ability to sing catchy political melodies is Edmund Stoiber, the CSU boss set to become economics minister,

Mr Stoiber's insistence on solo tunes can sometimes be painful on his partners' ears. Calculating that it might help him boost the CSU's dented popularity, Mr Stoiber demanded the economics portfolio: that meant that the politically risky--but also more powerful--finance ministry went to the SPD. To neutralise a potential rival as CSU leader, Mr Stoiber forced Ms Merkel to accept Horst Seehofer as farm minister. That was hard on her: Mr Seehofer had often upset Ms Merkel with views that were too far left for her tastes.

Putting these moments of disharmony aside, why such an emphasis on rationality and common sense? This signals a change in Germany's political culture, largely triggered by the economic crisis, argues Karl-Rudolf Korte, a political scientist at Duisburg-Essen University. Germans, he says, no longer want showmanship; they yearn instead for realism and solid leadership.

Yet the shift from self-promotion to seriousness reflects supply as well as demand, and the effects of generational change in German politics. Having already lost much talent to the Greens, the SPD suffers from an ageing group of leaders--many of them "68ers"--who have left little room for newcomers. That is why the party must now rely on solid, experienced politicians and even one senior civil servant. And the two relative youngsters who have made it into the cabinet also seem to be rather sensible sorts--although traces of Mr Schroder's flashy side are visible in Sigmar Gabriel, the former premier of Lower Saxony and future environment minister.

The CDU, for its part, is still hurting from the reign of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who left his party politically drained. While some youngish politicians have gained positions of power under Ms Merkel, they still lack the experience for the top jobs. And the party's heavyweights, all rivals of Ms Merkel's, have preferred to keep their jobs as state premiers. Instead, she recruited two confidantes, both also more matter-of-fact types: Annette Schavan and Ursula von der Leyen, two state ministers, who will hold the portfolios for education and the family respectively.

Whatever the reasons, the result is not inspiring. The flip-side of the new rationality, says Warnfried Dettling, a political analyst, is that the government may not be able to present a persuasive vision of where reform should lead over the next 20 years. That's a big drawback after an election in which more than half the electorate voiced nervousness about the future.

A more immediate task for Germany's new political performers is learning to read from the same score. But coaxing some political and ideological harmony out of this multi-pitched government is not going to be simple.

Germany's new ministers in the 2005 Grand Coalition of SPD and CDU/CSU look decent and worthy - but first they must learn to sing from the same tune.