Thus Der Spiegel today. “Germans discovered a new lightness of being in the run-up to their World Cup victory,” elaborates the newspaper. “It’s a shift apparent not only in soccer. Increasingly confident and content, Germany is emerging from the dark shadows of its past, but its global role remains elusive.” One way or another, soccer is an important part of the story. Until 2006, the argument goes, Germans saw themselves as a “brooding” society, but the view changed after Germany hosted a brilliant world tournament that year. Until 2010, the country saw itself as “cumbersome and ponderous,” but the world tournament that year changed that perception once again. The rest of the article turns to other achievements, though. First, the division between east and west is gone by now. The reunification a generation ago has been successful, that is. Second, Germany is rapidly becoming a country of immigrants. Many of them feel at home there. In terms of numbers, Germany is ranking second in the world after America in attracting permanent immigrants. Third, Berlin has become the capital of the new Germany. More, it has become the party capital of the world. It attracts artists and a growing number of tourists. And fourth, Germany has sailed through the last financial crisis pretty well. Many social and economic reforms in the early years of the new millennium prepared the ground for effective management of the crisis. A strong feeling of self-confidence is the result of all of the above. An active rôle in world affairs is still but a dream, though. Although the American tutelage is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, the future remains murky. And this is where the article leaves it to readers’ imagination. Of course, many a European will feel a bit uncomfortable with the missing conclusion. Pray, whither Germany?