In the race to become Germany’s next chancellor, recent polls put incumbent Angela Merkel of the Christian Democrats clearly ahead of her challenger Frank-Walter Steinmeier of the Social Democrats.So some people are predicting the elections will result in a coaltion between the CDU and the Free Democrats — two parties that tout themselves as experts in economic policy. We examine whether current coalitions between the CDU and the FDP have been successful, such as the one in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.