Explainer: Germany's next government faces three big economic challenges

FILE PHOTO: Staff wear protective masks at the Volkswagen assembly line in Wolfsburg, Germany, April 27, 2020. Swen Pfoertner/Pool via REUTERS

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel has steered Germany through many crises over the past 16 years, but she has also left behind a mixed legacy and failed to tackle some deep structural problems in Europe's largest economy.

Despite a "golden decade" of uninterrupted growth and budget surpluses, most economists agree Germany has neglected its public infrastructure and invested too little in digitisation.