Europe is looking to Germany for leadership – but these elections will dash its hopes again

What a difference four years makes. In 2021, the world watched the German elections to see who would succeed the EU's uncrowned "queen". Angela Merkel had become a symbol of liberal democracy in the era marked by the first Trump administration. In Germany, two colourless figures explicitly vied to replace her. Deep down everyone knew that German leadership in Europe was coming to an end. But no one could have foreseen how steep the fall would be. Today, Germany is a country struggling with itself, increasingly sidelined in Europe and the world. The second Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022…