When Germany Votes, It Will Be About the Economy

The German election has in part focused on hot-button issues like immigration and more recently on the threat to the Atlantic alliance presented by President Trump. But the overriding concern in daily German life, according to interviews and polls, and the thing most likely to drive the choice of voters, is the nation’s anemic economy. The German economy has not grown in five years. Its once-powerful industries are suffering through what corporate and labor leaders call a crisis of competitiveness. Structural problems, including crumbling public infrastructure, from bridges and roads to schools; a lack of high-speed broadband networks; and public services that still work with paper have dragged on growth. So have regulations, tax rates and, in particular, high energy costs.