Hermann Hesse is for German public life what Seamus Heaney is for Irish politicians – and US President Joe Biden – an often-quoted source of inspiration. Some 80 years ago in May 1941, one of the darkest periods of the second World War, Hesse reminded his fellow Germans that change for the better is always possible. "Jedem Anfang wohnt ein Zauber inne", he wrote: in every new beginning lingers enchantment.
That Hesse line was conspicuous by its absence this week in Berlin. Germany's fourth wave of Covid-19 – its worst yet – has cancelled the political honeymoon of Berlin's incoming government coalition, led by the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). With 100,000 deaths to date, and a daily death rate above 300, Germany is trapped in a vicious cycle of poor preparation and a relatively low vaccination rates: 68 per cent of the population are fully vaccinated. Ten per cent have had booster shots.
Runaway infection rates in Saxony and Bavaria mean regional lockdowns there are now very likely, though SPD chancellor-elect Olaf Scholz is determined not to follow Austria and Slovakia into a full lockdown. Even before taking office next month his administration has, mid-pandemic, changed horses and shifted almost all competences for pandemic management from Berlin to Germany's 16 state capitals. It is a high-risk move, giving them far greater powers and responsibilities than many appear willing to embrace.
The pandemic cacophony makes it even more remarkable how quickly and discreetly the SPD agreed a new programme for government with the Greens and liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP). In just four weeks, the untested three-way alliance has presented a progressive pact.
The SPD has secured agreement on measures to address the housing crisis, tackle child poverty and introduce a €12 minimum wage which will deliver a pay hike for 10 million people. The Greens have secured a series of measures to boost renewable energy production and electric cars while pro-business FDP blocked tax hikes and easier borrowing – but will need all its creative accounting skills to finance its coalition partners’ plans. For its EU neighbours, the Berlin deal flags tantalising promise of backing for EU reform, but little detail.
After years trapped in the political amber of grand coalition compromise, Germany’s new coalition has embraced a new mandate: to make climate protection and economic prosperity complementary in the world’s fourth largest economy. As Germany starts down an unavoidable reform path at a time of unprecedented uncertainty, its worth remembering how Hesse’s most famous line continues: “for every new beginning contains enchantment/that protects us and helps us to live”.