Reluctant Meister

Germany is a country with a deep and complex history. Arguably there is no greater culture and no country has contributed more to the development of human ideas and creativity. Nor has any country sunk deeper into the abyss or experienced such redemption and renewal. It is this that instils the German story with a profound and universal significance.

A generation after the fall of the Berlin Wall much of Europe remains uncertain about its identity and direction. As Britain prepares to leave the European Union these uncertainties are greater than ever. The euro and migrant crisis have seen Germany reluctantly assume a prominent role among the states of the European Union, but outright leadership remains deeply problematic for a country haunted by its past.

What part will Germany – a land where over a long history of people have adopted layered identities – play in this new Europe? Whatever the answer, the implications for Britain and the future of the wider European project will be profound.