Olaf Scholz

Yes, “harder years, tough years” are coming for Germany. But they could be all the harder because the country’s leadership still is not ready to acknowledge its past failures or to apply the lessons to its future policy settings.

The best thing about the German coalition document is that it shows the three parties are able to work together. Though not magical, it is a good start.

Germany has voted. The result is not an earthquake, but a landslide. A change of power is looming after 16 years of Christian Democrat-led federal governments.

German politics can appear complicated from the outside. However, for casual observers there is at least one consolation: few things ever change. Just prepare to get used to a different name after 16 years of Merkel.