All's well that ends well, one might say. Many people believed that Germany was on the verge of a national crisis following the recent resignation of Christian Wulff, the second German president to step down in two years. But they were proved wrong on Sunday.
The atmosphere in the Reichstag building in Berlin was cheerful and relaxed as the specially convened body known as the Federal Assembly met Sunday to elect the new German president. The unspoken message was clear: A mature democracy can take such things in its stride.
On days like these, it's also clear that, despite our political differences, we all mainly want the same thing: We want to be able to live together in the same country and feel reasonably free and happy. Nobody put that better than Joachim Gauck in his first speech as the new German president after being elected. "What a beautiful Sunday," he said. » | A Commentary By Roland Nelles | Monday, February 19, 2012
