Political lobby: Chancellor Angela Merkel and Henning Kagermann, former CEO of SAP

As last month’s German election night was tipping into the morning, Berlin politicos were buzzing around the loudest and longest party of the evening, that of the pro-market Free Democrats. After more than 11 years in opposition, the FDP was toasting itself into a coalition with the conservative Christian Democrats of Angela Merkel, the re-elected chancellor. Meanwhile, in the outdoor smoking section, a prominent retail lobbyist was discussing the FDP’s plans to cut taxes with one of the policy’s architects.