When looking at our latest data poll @markhleonard and I thought the results for Germany were really striking. There is no danger of Germany leaving the EU or of a Eurosceptic party winning the chancellery in this year’s parliamentary election. But we are worried. A 🧵
German political elites should be aware that the support for the 🇪🇺 project is dwindling and that they cannot take it for granted. More than 15 months after the coronavirus crisis hit, many Germans have started asking themselves if they would be better off bowling alone. 
Sure, timing of the survey plays a role. In April, Germans were under the impression that the EU was failing to vaccinate its citizens in a timely manner. But we warn against taking it lightly. Germany has the largest increase in the belief that EU integration has gone too far.
We argue that German politicians need to react to the growing pressure on the consensus in German society for an outward-looking and pro-EU Germany. Especially because Germany’s traditional ways of thinking are increasingly unsuited to addressing new foreign policy challenges.
Berlin needs to find a more viable model for Germany's economic, security, and EU policy. We think that the key to building support for an outward-looking and pro-EU Germany lies, paradoxically, in anchoring German policy in a narrower focus on the national interest.
Policymakers need to better explain how Berlin uses the EU to increase its influence and thereby enhance the wealth, prosperity, and security of the German public. In our paper we present some ideas how that's possible: ecfr.eu/publication/ho… END.
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