Germany is in the driving seat of the European Union for the next six months and also that of the Group of Eight industrialised countries for the whole of 2007. With the continuing turmoil in the Middle East, a sorely weakened US administration and an introspective EU about to lose two of its longest-serving leaders – Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair – it is going to be a testing time for Angela Merkel, the German chancellor. It will also be an important moment for an increasingly self-confident Germany, recovering something of its economic impetus after unification, to make its mark on the world stage.

As she makes clear in her interview with the FT, Ms Merkel’s top priority is to repair the ailing transatlantic relationship, badly damaged by the ill-conceived invasion and occupation of Iraq. It is a good call. So far there has been much talk, in Washington and Brussels, but not much action to put the show back on the road.