Germany’s quite possibly best major country right now

Angela Merkl has been chancellor for half of the past 30 years, so there will be a collective holding of breath when she retires next year. But the world would be a better and safer place if there were more countries like Germany.

It’s not paradise, but when you compare it with the incompetent, belligerent populism that prevails in formally democratic countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil and India, it looks pretty good. ‘Wir schaffen das” (We can manage this), said Chancellor Angela Merkel when more than a million mostly Muslim refugees arrived in Germany in 2016, and four years later it looks like she was right, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr

Opinion

BY Gwynne Dyer

October 1, 2020

LONDON, U.K.—I have just spent two weeks driving around Germany interviewing people (mostly climate scientists, since you ask), and I have come to the conclusion that it is the best-run—and quite possibly just the best—major country in the world right now. Some small countries are absolute je...

To keep reading, subscribe and become a political insider.

Only $7.76 a week for an annual subscription.

Enjoy unlimited website access and the digital newspaper.

Cancel anytime.

Already a Subscriber?

Get Weekend Point of View Newsletter

A round up of the past weekâ€™s opinion writers and columnists on Saturdays and Sundays.

By entering your email address you consent to receive email from The Hill Times containing news, analysis, updates and offers. You may unsubscribe at any time. See our privacy policy