The 2021 Bundestag election has drawn more international attention than any that have come before. Provincial newspapers in the US and Europe are publishing polling results from Germany in much detail. Coalition variants such as ‘traffic light’ or ‘Jamaica’ have entered the world’s political vocabulary. Voters on 26 September will, in a sense, be casting their first global ballot. Why? Because as Covid-19 and social media continue to rampage, the go-go audacity of the early 21st century is rapidly losing its attraction. Growing numbers of people have had enough excitement, thank you. Germany is the perfect source of ... (full story)