The Merkel era is ending not with a bang but with a fretful whimper. This week we are reviewing some of the key moments that shaped the Merkel era on our podcast Europe’s largest, most powerful country turns inwards and waits as, in all-night sessions, party bigwigs poker their way towards a coalition that can satisfy at least some of the voters’ demands. At the end of it all a binding contract is signed. The virtual dead-heat that emerged from Sunday’s election, with the (SPD) just under 2 percentage points ahead of the rival Christian Democrats (CDU), suggests that finding a stable government will be a slog. A German government by Christmas, as promised by the SPD leader Olaf Scholz, seems overly optimistic. The process is frustrating for outside observers but it helps to adapt to what is going to happen next and dampens expectations of a radical shift in direction. Text - Sebastian Seibt