It is several decades since Germany was last labelled the ‘sick man of Europe’ but economic malaise has once again taken hold in Europe’s largest economy. Two consecutive years of negative GDP growth have provided the backdrop to Germany’s election on Sunday, 23 February. The rare snap poll was triggered after the coalition government splintered amid a disagreement over the economy. The incumbent Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, of the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP), claimed that his options to reverse the