After penning my last Bagehot column, I say auf Wiedersehen to Britain, and Guten Tag to Berlin as The Economist‘s new bureau chief. In this final post, let’s take a look back on my five years writing about Britain and what lies ahead.
First, let’s settle some scores. Which predictions went my way, and which didn’t?
I admit, there were a couple of big misses. During the 2015 election, I underestimated the Conservatives’ ability to win a majority. I also misjudged the mood of the nation during the EU referendum. I take one main lesson from these experiences: political predictions are trickier than they seem.

