Germany’s coalition talks have broken down

By THE DATA TEAM

AT THE start of this year some pundits lamented the decline of American leadership by bestowing the title of “leader of the free world” on Angela Merkel. Following the failure of coalition talks this week, it remains to be seen how much longer she will remain the leader of Germany.

Germany’s post-war political system has a reputation for delivering solid, stable governments. Mrs Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and their centre-left counterparts, the Social Democrats (SPD), dominate the political landscape. Between them, they have led every government since the 1960s in coalition with just one other party: usually a small one, and occasionally with each other.