THESE are political times. American democracy produces more drama in a week than it used to in a year. In France the forces of globalism and nationalism are locked in combat. In Britain nation-changing votes have become annual events. Brenda, a Bristol pensioner interviewed by the BBC in April, spoke for millions on learning of the early general election: “You’re jokin’! There’s too much politics going on!”
Germany is different. It goes to the polls on September 24th, but of politics red in tooth and claw there is little evidence. It is a country calm and comfortable, closer in spirit to Brenda than to Wagner. Angela Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) are coasting to victory on an inoffensive manifesto offering something for everyone. Martin Schulz, her Social Democratic (SPD) rival, has a tough choice: be confrontational and risk losing voters to Mrs Merkel’s big tent, or echo her soothing overtures, leaving voters with little reason to pick him over...Continue reading
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