Germany, a global superpower and the driving force behind the European Union, is facing a political crisis as Angela Merkel, who served as chancellor on three consecutive occasions, is struggling to put together a government. Talks between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Merkel’s party, the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) broke down last night, Sunday 19 November.

The German federal elections, which were held back in September, opened the door to this current state of affairs with most major parties struggling to keep their votes. Merkel’s party won 246 seats during the elections, a significant drop from the 311 seats they had won during the last election in 2013. However, none of it was in favour of Martin Schulz, who heads the second biggest party in Germany and who represents the opposition. He led the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP) to 153 seats this time around as opposed to 193 seats during the 2013 federal elections.

The major shock came from Alternative for Germany (AfD), the far-right populist and anti-immigration party that has taken Germany by storm in recent years. The party was only founded in February 2013 and failed to win any seats in the 2013 federal elections. This time around, they won an astounding 94 seats and totalled more than 5.8 million votes. The AfD is now the third biggest party in Germany behind the parties led by Merkel and Schulz.

Christian Lindner, leader of the FDP, spoke to the press following the breakdown in talks and claimed that the parties were too far apart on key issues such as immigration and the environment. “It is better not to govern than to govern badly,” said Lindner. In a separate statement to the press, Merkel ensured that the country will continue on its usual course until a permanent solution is found. “It is a day of deep reflection on how to go forward in Germany,” she said.

Merkel is now left with only two choices now and she has not faced either during her 12 years in power so far. The first option would be to form a minority government and to seek allies in the Bundestag depending on the issues at stake. The second and more drastic option would be to call on a snap election.