There was nothing grandiose about the German election on Sunday, but it will more than likely result in a grand coalition. After waiting in the wings for several decades, Friedrich Merz, the head of the Christian Democrats, is set to become the next chancellor in a coalition government with the Social Democrats, who headed the previous government but sank to a mere 16 percent of the overall vote. For Germany, it represents a last chance to shore up the fortunes of the mainstream parties, reboot the economy and above all reorient Germany away from the lure of the far right.

When I attended an election party in Munich on Sunday at the headquarters of the Christian Social Union (which is the Bavarian sister party of the Christian Democrats), elections expert Antonia Ferrier explained to me that “Germany is a country under stress.” That helped to account for the restrained mood at the headquarters in Munich and for Merz’s own earnest tone as he addressed party stalwarts at the Konrad-Adenauer House in Berlin. A day earlier, at a festive political rally at the Loewenbraeukeller, Merz had already intimated to the audience that America was not necessarily a reliable partner of Germany and Europe.

On Sunday, he went further. He warned that........

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