A Glum Scenario - If...

I n examining whether Germany’s less than stellar economic performance since the mid-1980s will continue, three questions must be posed:

• Will Germany be a force for intergovernmentalism and statism—or for federalism and liberalism—in the European Union?
• What will the economic agendas of the major German political parties look like?
• Will anything erect a hard budget constraint on—or prompt an exit of savings from—the German welfare state?