These days Germany is hailed as a liberal lighthouse, standing firm amidst the falling darkness of an illiberal age.
It is a flattering image to Germans. Educated in the history of the 20th century, we admire the unsentimental determination of Britian’s democracy in that fateful year of 1940, when fascists and communists subjugated Europe and liberal democracy seemed hopelessly passé.
Would it not be nice if we could play that role for once? But can we?
Germany’s democrac...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.