In praise of … Angela Merkel's enthusiasms

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/14/in-praise-of-angela-merkel-enthusiasms

Version 0 of 1.

Angela Merkel jumped for joy when Mario Götze scored the World Cup winner, then hugged each player as they got their medals, before posing with the team and the trophy. British politicians will have watched this with ill-disguised envy. And, yes, the German chancellor knows she has done her image no harm in Rio. But the deeper truth is that German public life allows Mrs Merkel to follow her enthusiasms without feigning them. The chancellor likes football and Wagner operas – so she goes to both, publicly and without controversy. British politicians seem incapable of such naturalness. Like David Cameron and Alex Salmond they crave reflected glory from sporting success. At the same time, as Sir John Tusa complained this week, they run scared of being seen to enjoy the arts. The truth, not for the first time, is that the more relaxed German system is the better one. And their football and opera are pretty good too, as it happens.