Is Germany becoming the new sick man of Europe?

It’s not going well for Germany at the moment. Their largest bank is on the verge of collapse while their second largest bank is laying-off staff. And Frau Merkel is having to cope with the political fallout of her open-door immigration policy – not least a rise in populist nationalism and a dip in her own popularity. Germans have also been told in recent months to stockpile food, while a leaked document suggested a return to national service, which stopped in 2011, was being considered. But that’s not all: the country’s economy recently slipped in the World Economic Forum’s competitive ranking. All this makes for a grim picture. So having lived for 14 years in Germany with my Venezuelan husband (who knows a thing or two about political instability and national crises), we decided it was time to up sticks and return to the UK.

My German colleagues, non-plussed by the Leave campaign’s victory, wondered why I would want to return to a foggy, rain-sodden island inhabited by inward-looking ‘Insel Affen’ who live on a diet of weak beer and fish and chips (yes, a lot of Germans think it’s still the 1970s in Britain).