Brexit may herald a serious threat to Germany: its negotiating position will reflect that

While Germany would prefer a “soft Brexit”, in which economic repercussions can be staved off by business flexibility, Britain’s exit from the EU creates new opportunities for its renewal. At the same time, should Brexit be the first step toward the disintegration of the EU, Germany will look back to June 2016 as the beginning of its worst nightmare: the return of orthodox, unchecked and dangerous inter-state competition in Europe, writes Jochen Klingler