New faces, policies – and accents: Germany’s next coalition

Olaf Scholz takes over from Angela Merkel and brings with him a northern accent typical of Hamburg

Germany's next coalition government, which will be sworn in on Wednesday, will come with a lineup of new faces, a new set of policy priorities and a new dose of energy. It will also speak with a distinctive accent.

Olaf Scholz, the centre-left politician who will step into Angela Merkel's shoes, is a man of the German north not only by upbringing but by voice. When the former mayor of Hamburg recently warned in parliament that Covid-19 had not yet been beaten, he leaned into the stretched out fricatives typical of Germany's second-largest city: Scholz pronounces the word besiegt as besiecht.