Though the German chancellor is set to win, she faces the prospect of coalition building and a need to address a raft of national concernsYou would hardly know this is general election year in Germany. I have travelled to Europe´s most important country three times this year, and each time to a very different part of it - first to Hamburg in the north, then to the flatlands of Brandenburg in the far east and, most recently, to prosperous Bavaria in the south. Yet until this week, when the campaign eased into gear, you would have struggled to realise that Europe´s most pivotal political contest is imminent.So far, this has suited Angela Merkel just fine. It says a lot about the chancellor´s approach to the 24 September German election that she has just spent three weeks doing exactly what she likes doing each summer, election or not. First a visit to the first night of the Wagner family´s Bayreuth festival, then a walking holiday in northern Italy (the German-speaking part), in which she and her husband stayed in the same room in the same hotel in the same village as they always do. Related: Angela Merkel races ahead in polls with six weeks to go The political class says little about migration, which rocked the country two summers ago, but the issue remains potent Continue reading...
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