Germany doesn't have many internal issues apart from a slow bureaucracy and racism.
The EU certainly has dropped of the radar, even as far as the AfD is concerned and the EU budget isn't really a point of much discussion and has never been one really.
The AfD is also not looking very healthy at the moment. Their actual policies won't win anyone over and their performance in legislature isn't either. Not to mention that they have massive internal issues. They are currently capturing the protest and racist vote but as the other parties adapt and the fantasy they AfD has created comes into contact with reality, they're numbers will crash.
Additionally much of the EU hasn't shown themselves from their best side in the refugee crisis, at least from a German perspective. Germany itself or Schaeuble anyway has also made it a fetish to reduce debt. Any proposals that slashes EU expenses, especially towards Eastern Europe won't get much criticism. Indeed some might very well think that this is a great idea just to remind everyone exactly what the EU has to offer and why Germany has the power it has.
It has huge problems with its exports. Roughly half of its GDP comes from export. And since the 2008 financial crisis that hit other exporting countries so hard, Germany only grew its exports. How's that possible? They started to export more to the UK, Canada and the US. But it seems they are reaching their limit and if the cyclical crisis comes to the US it will really hurt Germany. When half of the country's GDP comes from export, a 10% drop in export leads to 5% drop in GDP.
It also has a banking system, a refugee and rising nationalism problem.
> ... won't get much criticism.
It won't, in Germany. It will in recipients countries.
> ... why Germany has the power it has
Half of Germany's wealth comes from its export. It means it comes from its clients. Germany's economy is dependent on other countries buying their goods. Anything that threatens the free movement of goods is a threat to Germany's well being. Let say, if some country decides to leave the common market and establish trade barriers to protect its national market and then it does well on its own, other countries that currently struggle may follow the suit and protect their producers by blocking German goods. It would be a disaster for Germany.
The EU certainly has dropped of the radar, even as far as the AfD is concerned and the EU budget isn't really a point of much discussion and has never been one really.
The AfD is also not looking very healthy at the moment. Their actual policies won't win anyone over and their performance in legislature isn't either. Not to mention that they have massive internal issues. They are currently capturing the protest and racist vote but as the other parties adapt and the fantasy they AfD has created comes into contact with reality, they're numbers will crash.
Additionally much of the EU hasn't shown themselves from their best side in the refugee crisis, at least from a German perspective. Germany itself or Schaeuble anyway has also made it a fetish to reduce debt. Any proposals that slashes EU expenses, especially towards Eastern Europe won't get much criticism. Indeed some might very well think that this is a great idea just to remind everyone exactly what the EU has to offer and why Germany has the power it has.