There is new hope for Germany and it comes in the form of Cem Özdemir and his vision: a "color-blind society." On Nov. 15, the Green party elected him as its new co-leader. Özdemir is 42 years young and the first party chairman in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany from an immigrant family. His Turkish parents came to Germany as "guest workers." Some party members are calling him the "Green Obama." At the party convention, they chanted: "Yes, we Cem."

Özdemir says he could imagine his party joining a coalition with the conservative CDU/CSU. Many people regard a government led by a woman (Chancellor Angela Merkel) and the son of immigrants as a promising alternative to established, male-dominated politics.

The world won't change that quickly. Women and the children of immigrants will have to live up to the high expectations. To put it differently, the belief that belonging to a different race, the female gender or an immigrant group makes someone more qualified per se is not only naïve, it is something like affirmative racism. A society is not "color-blind" as long as race, heritage and gender are still topics of discussion when posts are awarded.

Obama still has to make good on his promises. Özdemir has already once stumbled over too-cozy ties to an infamous lobbyist. And, as Ségolène Royal and Martine Aubry recently demonstrated in their struggle for the leadership of France's Socialist Party, sometimes all's fair when women fight each other, too.

The fact that the circle of the powerful is diversifying and that large parts of the population consider that a given is good news. These politicians are living the fundamental principle that bans discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin or gender.

But belonging to these groups is no guarantee that these people are better than others or make better policy.

New, emerging leaders may be charismatic visionaries and the beacon of great hope. But how many have failed when handed the responsibility of governing? Let's be realistic: We hope our hopes don't leave us hopeless.