"BERLIN—At a recent debate, a German voter had some pointed criticism
for Chancellor Olaf Scholz: The German government is unable to govern
and its ministers are bickering like children.

Instead of pushing back, Scholz conceded the point. “The truth is: You
are right,” he said. “But what would be your solution? I mean, I’m
asking for a friend.”

The exchange triggered little controversy in Europe’s largest economy,
once considered a paragon of good governance. It is now all but taken
for granted that politicians can agree on little here, and implement
even less. Recent gains by Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany,
or AfD, in state elections dealt Scholz’s fractious government another
blow.

France, which for decades has been the engine of the European Union
along with Germany, has found itself in a similar state of political
paralysis after elections in June left Parliament divided between a
multitude of parties.

President Emmanuel Macron formed a center-right government, even though
a coalition of left-leaning parties won the most seats in the National Assembly. That leaves his government vulnerable to challenges from
Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, if it were to decide to back a no-confidence vote against the government or refuse to support his
budget.

Political fragmentation and polarization have tied the hands of
political leaders, who can govern only in unwieldy coalitions between
left- and right-leaning parties. Governments have struggled to find
common ground on even basic issues, much less some of their most acute problems, such as handling growing numbers of immigrants, the war in
Ukraine and stagnant economies."

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