Europe’s Crisis Starts at Home

thinks the divisions that threaten EU integration are even wider within member states than between them.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hopes of forming a new coalition government have been dashed by the withdrawal of the Free Democrats from talks, forcing her to resurrect the grand coalition with the Social Democrats, form a minority government, or face another general election. Project Syndicate writers reflect on the challenges Germany faces and the implications for Europe of Merkel’s weakened position.
thinks the divisions that threaten EU integration are even wider within member states than between them.
attributes Germany's intransigence on EU reform to its economic interests in the Visegrad Group.
thinks the stakes are too high – in Europe and globally – not to reprise the previous CDU/CSU-SPD government.
is worried less by the prospect of the German chancellor's political demise than about a prolonged interregnum.
welcomes the prospect of a minority government, especially if genuine public debate returns to the Bundestag.
implores EU countries to work actively to re-engage the bloc's reluctant leader.