The main problem I perceive (as German in Germany, but I see it all over Europe) is weak leadership. Our current chancellor was pretty much universally perceived as a weak leader. Our ruling politicians have resorted to unambitious projects and smallest common denominator compromises. Germany could have become a global leader in green technology, we had all the ingredients. But in the end we were afraid to make a full commitment, investments were promised then cancelled, laws were promised then not passed, etc. This flip-flopping has made it difficult for industries to make reliable plans and to invest in new technology.
Everybody knew there was a high likelihood Trump would be back and that would mean America first again. We had 8 years to prepare. We did nothing and now again we are surprised he is in power and complain about the effects on Europe. We had 8 years to make ourselves more independent of his political games, we did nothing.
I feel like none of our current big parties have a real vision and strategy for the next 10, 20, 30 years. We are just drifting along hoping it will turn out alright
In the end I think this search for strong leadership is the reason many people are turning to right-leaning if not straight up neonazi parties.
The good news is, the potential is still there. We have a well educated population, energy prices are coming down, our industry is still world leading in many places we just need to use our knowledge and power to become a serious player in this multipolar world again