‍By Ewald König

The latest election results in Germany—in Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania—have left even observers abroad at a loss: business leaders, think tank analysts, the media—and, above all, the ambassadors. They must monitor their host country and report back home on what is happening in Germany. That’s why they’re not to be envied right now. They must provide analyses of how it came to be that, in some places, the far right and, in others, the far left have become the strongest parties.

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But how do they explain to their Ministry of Foreign Affairs and government what is going on in Germany, what this means for the future, what disastrous signals it sends for foreign, domestic and economic policy?

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Nor are the German diplomats stationed at embassies abroad to be envied. They are asked about their country at every working meeting and at the receptions that follow—not only by politicians, who inquire about the stability of this largest country in the European Union, but also by business leaders. Investors will want to know how secure their investments still are in a capital that has turned to the far left. Foreign professionals will want to know whether they are still welcome—and, above all, safe—in this Germany.

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Other countries are trying to assess how these elections—with their tendency toward extremism—might alter bilateral relations. Whether it still makes sense to plan state or working visits when it is uncertain how long the head of government will remain in office. What weight the words of a chancellor carry when his policies are met with disastrous results. His party has now even been voted out of the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania—of all places, where Angela Merkel had her electoral district. Whether Germany can still afford to offer any advice to other countries.

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The outlook in Berlin isn’t promising. The metropolis of four million on the Spree can only be governed by a three-party coalition: Red-Green-Red or, alternatively, Black-Red-Green. A three-party governing coalition is, by its very nature, extremely challenging. The struggle over every decision will drag on painfully, and ultimately, a three-party coalition breaks apart more easily than a two-party one. Apparently, a new government isn’t expected until Christmas. Berlin is once again losing and wasting valuable time—something it simply cannot afford.

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It’s not just diplomats who have to send insightful reports back to headquarters; correspondents, too, must explain to their readers, listeners, and viewers how, why, and in what direction Germany is changing at a dizzying pace—how the political center is struggling to keep up and the political fringes are benefiting.

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As an Austrian correspondent, I was sent to the (former) Federal Republic of Germany 41 years ago. Since I had also managed to secure accreditation in the GDR and had moved into a second apartment in East Berlin, I gained insight at that time into life on the other side of the Wall and the hatred directed at the SED. It would never have occurred to me that, a generation later, the successor party to the former SED—and later the PDS—would emerge as the strongest force from a democratic election. Berlin is in danger of being ruled by left-wing extremists with fantasies of expropriation and activists with plans for socialization. As a result, the deeply indebted city—which desperately needs investment—is scaring off investors.

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Since election night, I’ve heard the reaction “This is enough to make you want to emigrate!” more than once. That actually sounds like a solution the Left Party could use to solve Berlin’s housing problem, just as it promised during the campaign.