A new government for Germany, and its role in the world

After five months without a government, members of the center-left SPD have now voted to join another coalition led by Chancellor Angela Merkel. There has been no great sense of urgency in Germany. Its economy continues to grow, and its politics remain stable. Yet, the weakness of this latest "grand coalition" is bad news for Europe and for the world. Europe needs leadership, and France's Emmanuel Macron needs a strong Eurozone reform partner. At the global level, liberal values like respect for rule of law, human rights, open markets, and open borders need a champion. Germany, like the United States, is far from a perfect messenger on these questions, but with Donald Trump touting "America First," Xi Jinping erasing term limits in China, and strongmen emerging in country after country, Angela Merkel is still the best defender of these values. Her task has only become more...