Boredom

Democracy will be tested, warns Francis Fukuyama

Here's how "The End of History and the Last Man," the 1992 best seller of political philosopher and Stanford University professor Francis Fukuyama, ends: "Perhaps this very prospect of centuries of boredom at the end of history will serve to get history started once again." Clearly, the engines of history restarted and have been working at warp speed in the past three decades.

The German election

Germans head to the polls this Sunday in a dull and almost indifferent atmosphere that is a far cry from the emotions and tensions that characterized the Austrian, Dutch and French elections. Perhaps boredom is a side effect of stability. However, serious issues in the European Union have been left hanging.