Michel the German, a nationwide personification comparable to America’s Uncle Sam or Britain’s John Bull, is a sleepy fellow with a nightcap. He’s a bit conservative and never all that eager on disruption. Michel is, in different phrases, an acceptable consultant for the trendy German financial system, which has grown by a meagre 0.1% over the previous 5 years and is, in response to forecasts, now getting into yet one more 12 months of stagnation. When voters head to the polls on February twenty third, the depressing state of the financial system will probably be on the entrance of many minds.