A quote typical of Chancellor Angela Merkel, a physicist by education and politician by profession, goes like this: “Don’t forget about the huge difference between expecting something and experiencing it.”
For years Germany’s security services have warned about the imminent threat of a terrorist attack. They warned specifically about the danger of attacks on “soft” targets such as Christmas markets. So Germans were vaguely expecting a blow. On Monday evening, right in the centre of Berlin, they experienced it.
How will this affect them? What will this do to Ms Merkel, to the nation’s political landscape and to the cohesion of our society?