By Ewald König

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In times like these, routine is a pleasant thing. A diplomatic ritual that sounds familiar, even comforting.

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Because everything we have experienced recently has shattered every routine: disruption instead of ritual.

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In Greek class I learned: Panta Rhei. In case you've just missed school: Everything flows. The philosopher Heraclitus formulated this wisdom around 2,500 years ago.

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Nothing is clear, nothing stable, nothing static (apart from the chaos in Berlin, but he didn't know that back then). Everything flows in perpetual change. Nothing can be held back.

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In the past, we were not at the mercy of change and dynamics; we needed to see change as an opportunity and use it to gain new perspectives. That is no longer the case now that US President Donald Trump dominates the entire globe and the media and causes surprises or horror every day. We experienced the most undiplomatic diplomatic event to date called the Munich Security Conference, we marked the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we are horrified to see what is happening in the Middle East, we are experiencing a laborious reappraisal of the election Sunday with record results for the AfD.

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So much change is frightening. Everything flows, everything streams and sweeps away what we have grown to love, and of course also what is superfluous. Rituals and routines, formerly little appreciated, suddenly appear beneficial and valuable. Like handles in a raging river. The ritual with the new ambassadors at Bellevue Palace is part of this. Each new ambassador represents a new start in maintaining bilateral relations, for a new era, for new insights, for new political and cultural exchange.

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We have known since Heraclitus that everything flows. And of course everything flowed before Mr. Heraclitus. But what we don't know: Where does everything flow to? Which path does the flow take? The newly accredited heads of mission also have the task and the opportunity to work on this — albeit only for a short time, perhaps three or four years, before they leave Germany again and move on. Because everything flows in diplomacy as well. It depends on the right moment to make something of it. Only when the Federal President receives the accreditation of the new ambassadors does time stand still a bit. After that, Heracles applies again.

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