IN LESS than a month, Germany will go to the polls in an election which may determine how successful it will be in the next decade — and Britain, too.

It may not seem that way to British eyes. For the past decade and more, Germany’s politics have hardly grabbed international attention.

Since those totemic images of East Berliners clambering over the Berlin Wall in 1989, and then, if less photogenic, the grating shudder of reunification, Germany has retreated into a fretful introspection. The awkwardness of the fusion of West and East has been a bitter theme of this campaign. Ger- many is all too aware that its status as the economic engine of Europe has slipped but it is unsure how to retrieve it.

Germany’s decline from powerhouse to doubtful man of Europe has been much chronicled. But this election is different. For a start, there is the chance that Angela Merkel, leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union, will depose the centre-left Gerhard Schröder to become the first female Chancellor of Germany. But the election also matters because Germans are clearly trying to arrive at answers. This is why Britain should care:

• Economy They grow faster, we grow faster. What Britain wants is a German Chancellor who can really get Germany’s economy moving again.

  Merkel has sounded more aggressive than Schröder in her commitment to labour and pension reforms to speed up growth — although there are signs of improvement already.

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• Modernising Europe Without Germany, it will not happen. For some time after Helmut Kohl, Britain acted as if German weakness was in its interests. But no longer; it wants a competitive Europe. Thomas Matussek, German Ambassador in the UK, argues that “to get Europe moving again . . . it is very important to have a [German] government that can act decisively”. But unless the new government wins a clear majority, “you will not get the bold moves or painful sacrifices necessary”, he adds.

  Again, Merkel has sounded the greater moderniser, compared with Schröder. But Tony Blair is wrong to pin hopes of a big shake-up in the Common Agricultural Policy on her. Since she made one brief comment half-supporting his position, she has been very quiet.

• Big change at the top Apart from the details of policy — and Merkel is nothing if not detailed — to have a shakeup at the top could be a breath of fresh air for Europe. To have a woman running such a conservative country could also help, in subtle ways, to push Europe into a new mood of change.

  From the British point of view it is probably better if Merkel wins. But Matussek has a point: it is important that whoever wins has support for reform.

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