What the end of German hegemony means

Brussels

WITHOUT anyone quite noticing, Europe's internal balance of power has been shifting. Germany's dominant position, which has seemed absolute since the 2008 financial crisis, is gradually weakening - with far-reaching implications for the European Union (EU).

Of course, from a soft-power perspective, the mere fact that people believe Germany is strong bolsters the country's status and strategic position. But it will not be long before people begin to notice that the main driver of that perception - that Germany's economy continued to grow, while most other euro zone economies experienced a prolonged recession - represents an exceptional circumstance, one that will soon disappear.

In 12 of the last 20 years, the country's growth rate had been lower than the average of the other three large euro zone countries (France, Italy, and Spain). Although German growth surged ahead during the post-crisis period, the International Monetary Fund predicts that it will fall back below that three-country average - and far below the euro zone average, which includes the smaller high-growth countries of central and eastern Europe - within five…