People gather near the decommissioned Gundremmingen nuclear power plant in southern Germany prior to the demolition of the plant’s cooling towers on Oct. 25, 2025, as part of the country’s nuclear phase-out. Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/AFP via Getty Images
Commentary
Germany was postwar Europe’s greatest economic success story. Today it is a cautionary tale. Once the continent’s industrial engine, Germany has spent the past decade dismantling the foundations of its prosperity through energy and immigration policies driven more by ideology than evidence or good sense. The results have been rising costs, falling competitiveness, social disorder, and political backlash.
