Coalition talks following September’s German elections have collapsed, leaving Angela Merkel’s hopes of a ‘Jamaica’ government in tatters.
Now all parties have been forced to go back to the drawing board or even the campaign trail, with Mrs Merkel declaring she would rather force another election and attempt to increase her vote share than team up with the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
This political chaos is bad news for Angela Merkel, Germany and the EU, whose nations are watching on nervously as their de facto leader struggles to regain control within her own country.
Bulgarian PM Boyko Boris admitted on Monday Mrs Merkel’s dilemma was causing concern for other EU leaders watching on from the sideline.
He said: “It’s not a good sign for Europe that it’s taking so long.”
Austrian Finance Minister Hans Jörg Schelling said a strong Germany was crucial to EU development.
He said: “We’re in the middle of a phase in which we’re discussing whether and how to deepen European integration and a partner like Germany is of crucial importance.”
A weaker Germany is not something to celebrate for EU states – even France, who under president Emmanuel Macron is attempting to clamber back to the top of the EU’s power ranking.
A diminished Germany only means less European cooperation and unity, a think tank warned this week.
The Elcano Royal Institute said: “Less Germany does not mean more France, it means less joint European action.”
Mr Macron himself admitted he was also concerned by the German stalemate.
He said: “It is not in France’s interest for things to get blocked.”
Perhaps the most important aspect of Germany’s difficulty is Britain’s opportunity: especially in terms of Brexit negotiations.
Jacob Rees-Mogg said the situation showed the EU needed a Brexit deal more than Britain.
He said: “The political weakness of the strongest EU state makes our negotiating position stronger.
“With manifold domestic troubles not just in Germany, member states need a deal more than we do.”