Tuesday’s formal election of Angela Merkel as Germany’s chancellor will not mark a new era in economic policy. But in one respect there is a cause for guarded optimism. German foreign policy towards both the European Union and the US may become more stable and predictable.

Ms Merkel intends to return to the foreign policy doctrine that prevailed under Helmut Kohl, the last Christian Democrat chancellor. Mr Kohl managed to combine unwavering support for European integration – often in seeming contradiction to the national interest – with a firm commitment to transatlantic relations. It was this policy that made Germany, more than Britain, a diplomatic bridge between the US and the EU during his chancellorship.