BERLIN — Not so long ago, Germany seemed like it could do no wrong, thanks to its strong economy, excellent infrastructure and stable political system. Yet now it seems as though Germany can do nothing right. With a sluggish economy and crumbling infrastructure, it is falling behind technologically and succumbing to extremist political parties. Five factors explain this deep malaise, and all stem from leadership failures. On the economic front, the dynamics that carried the country through the 2008 financial crisis were sacrificed to political complacency. Angela Merkel’s long chancellorship brought no major social and economic reforms, and Olaf Scholz’s attempted reforms were ultimately held back by a dysfunctional coalition government. Now, his successor, Friedrich Merz, is in no better position. At the same time, Germany’s export-obsessed corporations largely ignored all the opportunities offered by the European single market. Rather than focusing on building economic capacity in Europe, German corporate and political leaders were seduced by the scale of the Chinese export m