Germany is facing dramatic change in many dimensions all at once

Much of germany’s success in recent decades can be put down to staying the course. Even its dramas were dramas of continuity—as when, in 2015, Angela Merkel refused to change the country’s asylum policy in the face of a huge influx of Syrian refugees. “Wir schaffen das,” she said as she held open the door—”We can handle this.” The much-quoted remark projected compassion and confidence while offering voters astute reassurance. Germany was strong and stable enough to cope with this extraordinary development. There would be readjustments, but no deep changes, nor serious costs.