German cars: no easy pass

Germany is getting a free-market lecture from its European partners. Two recent major automotive deals involving the country have met with outrage elsewhere on the continent, with allegations that they blatantly run counter to market principles or trample on the rights of minority shareholders. Take the German government-sponsored sale of Opel to an alliance of Magna, the Canadian car-parts maker, and Russian state lender Sberbank. London and Madrid say the deal for GM’s European business unduly...