eugyppius: a plague chronicle • 227 implied HN points • 13 Feb 26
- The federal government is effectively paralysed and unable to pass needed reforms, with the CDU leadership lacking the will to break the deadlock.
- The party system has shifted: the left has fragmented and radicalised while the CDU has hollowed out, driving voters toward the AfD and making traditional coalition tactics increasingly crippling, especially in an election year.
- Everyday public services and infrastructure feel degraded — a Lufthansa strike forcing high-profile figures onto unreliable, dirty trains is a small but telling example of broader decline in competence and public experience.