Is Germany in permanent decline?

Some worry that Germany is never going to recover from its current malaise. Others say it's just a blip.

Photo by Jasmin Sessler on Unsplash

Dear Reader,

Germans haven’t been in such a pessimistic mood for years.

The apparent stability of the Merkel era convinced the mainstream of society that their politicians were competent custodians of the public finances and that the economy was in a period of stable growth.

Within a year though, that mood of optimism h…