After only a few weeks in office, new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is quickly learning that handling his potentially fraught coalition is a fine balancing act.

In this, Mr Scholz is already perfecting the style of his predecessor, Dr Angela Merkel. The Social Democrat chooses every word cautiously, avoids concrete statements, or simply is silent if a subject gets too touchy. The most recent example is the debate about boycotting the Winter Olympics in Beijing over human rights abuses in Xinjiang province.