Mrs M

As one Iron Lady slowly rusts off this mortal coil (80 years young this year) another one takes centre stage, well almost...

As Angela Merkel heads off around Europe hours after being elected Kanzlerin the question is whether we are now at a turning point for Germany and the Union.

Her first stop may be Paris, but the new Chancellor is clearly not as keen on the Franco-German axis as her predecessor was. Her policies lie in much closer links with Britain and the US. She is, as Le Figaro puts it, much more of an Atlanticist. Not, of course, that she can afford to turn her back on France.

We will, in all likelyhood, see government changes in the three other big European countries (France, Italy and the UK) in the next three years, meaning that this could prove to be a major crossroads in the European project. After the failed constitution, there is a need for fresh impetus to kick start the Union, and new faces in charge may be the answer. But it is unlikely to be smooth sailing.

Merkel's problems, if and when they arise, are most likely to come from within her Grand Coalition. The reality of having to backdown or at least find common ground on most of the major policy areas could make life difficult for her, and a much mentioned fear is that this will have a negative result on the German econony and consequentially Europe's.

Spain's El Periodico is convinced she will have her hands full, After all, she will have to "revive the Berlin-Paris axis, snap the EU out of its paralysis, mend relations with the USA and return to European activism".

Time will tell if she lives up to the challenge. Mrs Thatcher lasted 10 years. Typically grand coalitions don't last long, but if she can keep it together, maybe the history books will look kindly on Angela Merkel.

As Czech newpaper Mlada Fronta Dnes puts it: "She has been elected chancellor - now she has to become one."