Nevertheless, Sahra Wagenknecht, a member of the German parliament and a Left Party leader, has managed to become a media star with her radical critique of capitalism. During the financial crisis, she gained the support of people who would otherwise have had little to do with the Left Party. Wagenknecht also represents a strong eastern element in German politics.
Of course, many East Germans had initial difficulties in dealing with the free market economy. And perhaps the food in their restaurants still isn't very good, at least judging by the complaints of West Berliners returning from weekend outings to the surrounding state of Brandenburg. But that will disappear over time. Fundamentally, eastern and western Germans are not that different.
In terms of mentality and values, East Germany would have had a much more difficult time uniting with Great Britain. But the same holds true of West Germany. At the time, West Germans felt closer to the British, and yet at their core they were as German as Germans can be.
Because anti-capitalism and the love of the social welfare state have even deeper roots in the eastern German population than in western Germany, these movements have become stronger overall in united Germany. Together, all four basic positions form an image of a nation that remains romantic and wants to keep its distance from the squabbles and hardships of a cold world. Merkel is the right chancellor for the job, because of her protective instincts, and because she usually does what her country expects her to do.