German leaders central to reviving European integration

Europeans must find solutions to shared problems, with Germany and France leading the way as they did in the past, says Guy Verhofstadt.

There is no doubt about it: the outcome of Germany’s recent federal election is as important as it is remarkable.

The parties that have dominated German politics for years — the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), plus its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) — all lost support at the ballot box.