In most democracies, the end of a long election campaign is received with relief by the voters. The citizens of Germany can be forgiven for being more grateful than average for the close of their proceedings. A miserable battle, which has revolved around personalities not policies and short-term populism not long-term dilemmas, has done nothing to address the real problems of Europe’s largest nation. It is difficult to conceive how any coalition which may emerge from the tortured post-poll negotiations will have either the mandate or the sense of mission to spur economic growth, slash unemployment or promote cohesion in...