As recently as Nov. 30, the Social Democrats seemed dead set on quitting their loathed coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc, after electing two leaders who had promised exactly that. In the latest polls, Christian Democrats and Social Democrats together have 38%; the far-right Alternative for Germany and the far-left Linke jointly get 27%. ADADA subtler cost of too much compromise is that it leads to small thinking and lost dynamism. The conservatives in the coalition block fiscal stimulus or a euro-area deposit insurance scheme; the Social Democrats balk at higher defense spending. Automation and artificial intelligence will disrupt labor markets and threaten Germany’s vaunted “Mittelstand” firms in manufacturing.

Source: Washington Post December 06, 2019 11:15 UTC