Pillar of liberal order teeters

Modern Germany’s strong democratic culture, commitment to European integration and intelligent engagement with world problems make the nation a pillar of the post-1945 liberal order. The need for a Germany confident about its values and international responsibilities is all the greater in the light of the weakening of this order in recent years.

The Trump administration’s waywardness, Russian pressure on the EU’s eastern flank and threats to the rule of law in parts of central and eastern Europe add to the challenges presented by the eurozone’s troubles, terror attacks and the refugee and migrant crisis. It follows that the central question arising from Sunday’s Bundestag elections is whether the results make it more or less likely that Germany will play to the full the prominent role its allies hope for.

The elections were a landmark for German democracy in several respects. Not since the former West Germany’s 1953 election have six parties gained seats in the Bundestag — seven if Bavaria’s conservative Christian Social Union, an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, is counted as a separate party. At just under 54%, the combined share of the vote for the two mass parties of the postwar era, fell to its lowest level since the Federal Republic’s birth in 1949. Alternative for Germany, a right-wing populist party, finished in third place and became the first movement of its type to enter the Bundestag.

The result threatens to reduce Merkel’s authority, push the legislature to the right on issues such as migration and national identity and limit the scope for German co-operation with France on improving the eurozone’s ability to survive another crisis. Inevitably, the political fragmentation visible in the election result will make the formation of a new coalition government a laborious affair for the chancellor and other party leaders. London, September 26.