For the past year, as the hurricane of political populism shook the west, Germany remained an island of calm. The US elected Donald Trump; Britain plunged towards Brexit; François Hollande was too unpopular even to stand for re-election as France’s president. By contrast, Angela Merkel, moved serenely towards a fourth term as German chancellor. Among the large western nations, only Germany seemed to have strong and stable leadership.
OP-ED
Gideon Rachman: The end of German exceptionalism
(L-R) Leadership members of the hard-right party AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) Joerg Meuthen, Alexander Gauland, Alice Weidel and Frauke Petry pose before addressing a press conference on the day after the German General elections on Sept. 25 in Berlin.
