großer zapfenstreich

Though likely to hold her caretaker role until the new government is formed, Angela Merkel is celebrated with a formal farewell ceremony in the form of a military tattoo featuring a retinue of torch-wielding soldiers in the forecourt of the defence ministry in Berlin-the high military honour rooted in traditions that go back to the sixteenth century and accorded to departing chancellors since Helmut Kohl-accompanied

by the soundtrack of her choice, a hymn Großer Gott, wir loben Dich (Great God, We Praise You), Für mich soll’s rote Rosen regnen (It ought to rain red roses for me) a 1968 ballad by Hildegard Knef and Nina Hagen’s song Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen (You Have Forgotten the Colour Film), a tip to her East German upbringing that was rarely acknowledged during her sixteen year incumbency or special requests in general.  Among the two hundred or so invited guests, fifty-two deputy ministers who served under Merkel are expected to attend.