Politics in Germany after Angela Merkel is increasingly in the hands of a new generation open to dialogue, which brings pragmatism and in many cases even white shoes, says writer and journalist Anna Sauerbrey.

“Angela Merkel is gone and Olaf Scholz is now Chancellor. They are practically the same age, but if we look at the government, at the leaders of the main parties, even at the “second” ministry, we will see that most of the so-called “old guard” has left Merkel. they are being replaced by people in their 40s and even 30s,” said Sauerbrey, international editor of the newspaper Die Zeit and author of a new book on the phenomenon.

“There has really been a generational change in German politics,” said the author of the German-language book Change of Power. How a new generation of politicians is changing the country” (free translation).

For Anna Sauerbrey, this new generation of politicians, among which Annalena Burbock, Minister of Foreign Affairs, or Kevin Künert, General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), “have common features, but they are not so obvious.”

“This is my generation, many of which were born in the 70s or early 80s. This generation grew up after the fall of the Berlin Wall, many of them in West Germany. years, a time of relative political stability, a time of optimism (…) when it was believed that democracy would spread throughout the world.There was also economic stability,” he notes.

It was important for the writer and journalist to understand how the past has shaped this new generation of politicians. Many grew up after the great ideological conflict that led to the Cold War, an aspect that Sauerbrey says will give them greater ideological freedom to think “outside the box.”

The offer to write a book was made to him in February last year by Rowohlt Berlin, just over six months before the legislative elections that would lead to the departure of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from power.

The average age of Scholz and his 16 ministers is 50.4 years, less than the average of all legislature undertakings of four previous governments led by Angela Merkel. The oldest of the German leaders is Scholz himself, 63 years old. For many, this is also a debut in high political office.

Anna Sauerbrey believes they are ready for the current challenges facing Germany, from the energy crisis to widespread price increases, climate change and a pandemic that is not over yet.

“They have had some time to adjust to the shocks that the world has brought with the crisis in Ukraine. Early in their careers as politicians, there were some moments that they still remember, such as 9/11 and the debate about freedom and security, that ultimately defined the start of their professional careers. Also the refugee crisis in 2015, the election of Donald Trump in the United States, Brexit – all these events that shook the idea of ​​​​a global path to freedom and democracy, ”he recalls.

Pragmatism and easy adaptation to new circumstances are points in favor of the three-party team that forms the government and came to power in December last year.

“They are much more open to dialogue and cooperation between parties, which is absolutely necessary today, because the political system in Germany has changed a lot in the last 20 years. We had two big parties that formed a coalition government, or a big party with a small one. Now we have three parties in the federal government, which is happening in most state governments, it’s almost our new normal. So we need to talk,” he said.

The author of Machtwechsel – Wie eine neue Politikgeneration das Land verändert cites two members of the Liberal and Green parties who met several times in a Berlin bar for drinks during the last years of Merkel’s rule. whiskey and discuss politics and possible common ground.

“They are very pragmatic and open to conversation,” he concludes.