Consulting firms like McKinsey and Accenture ought to be feeling cheery. Elon Musk’s DOGE wants to cut trillions of dollars from government spending. That’s the sort of thing the consultancies are supposed to be good at. But, as our analysis shows, DOGE may well treat their government contracts as fat rather than as aids to fat reduction. 

Elsewhere, Germany’s probable next chancellor has some stunning things to say about his country’s chief ally. Friedrich Merz would like Germany to achieve “independence from the USA” in light of Donald Trump’s coziness with Russia. Mr Merz is right that Europe should be able to defend itself without America by its side. Yet Germany’s allergy to debt is a big impediment to that goal.