With attempts to form a government in their fourth month, following an unexpectedly poor election performance by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, it’s in Berlin that things are looking desperate. Never mind trying to lead Europe. It’s not clear that Berlin can even lead Germany. Many in the country now associate the decision to briefly open the country’s doors to refugees with a loss of control (Kontrollverlust).

Some even go further, claiming that it was not a loss of control, but a decision not to control (Kontrollverzicht). And indeed, Germany’s judicial system, municipal administrations and regional authorities are at breaking point. They do not have the capacity to handle the sheer volume of asylum seekers. 

For a stability-centered society like Germany, the perception that state institutions are losing control and cannot deliver, is political dynamite. And the refugee issue is just one way in which Kontrollverlust is being felt.