Der Spiegel has produced a corker. Its latest front cover splashes the Mona Lisa with the face of centre-right Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose coalition is facing a touch of bother over reforms to the economy. The accompanying text asks: "Why is this lady smiling?" They're right, you wonder why she's smiling. The Thatcherite Chancellor disagrees with her coalition allies on subsidies for commuters, plans to partially privatise the national rail system and a minimum wage for postal workers. To make matters worse, rail employees are on strike, the coalition members are sending subtle warnings to each other through the media and the cross-party system seems to be failing miserably. You do wonder how conservatives and socialists can work as allies, but the electoral system in Germany has made it common.A hopeless situation, you'd think? Well, who predicts this setup in Britain in a few years and would even keep their party out of a coalition, thereby encouraging it? That's right, the Liberal Democrats. Watch Chris Huhne say it at about 13min here.
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