For more than a decade, Angela Merkel has been a rock of stability in a turbulent world.

Under her leadership, Germany has cemented its position as the EU’s economic powerhouse, weathered the eurozone crisis and confronted Russian aggression.

Now the country – seen as a model for steadfastness and consistency – has been thrown into disarray following the collapse of talks on forming a new coalition government.

Merkel’s future is in doubt and the country could face a fresh round of elections unless the negotiations can be resuscitated.

What happens has consequences which will reverberate far beyond Germany’s borders. There are implications for Brexit, global security and the future of the EU.

Will it hamper Brexit negotiations?

Angela Merkel and Theresa May (
Image:
Getty)

For Brexit to proceed smoothly, it is in Britain’s interests to have stability in the EU.

While the 27 EU nations have a collective position, it is obvious the two big economies of Germany and France have more influence than smaller states. Were Merkel to depart, the UK would lose a key ally in the negotiations.

The German Chancellor has not wavered from the official stance agreed by the EU27, but she has been instrumental in persuading colleagues not to push Theresa May towards a hard Brexit.

Once the negotiations move to the second stage on our future trading relationship, the UK is looking to Merkel to engineer a deal to the benefit of both sides.

With the Chancellor preoccupied with fighting for her political survival, she will have less time for resolving the Brexit deadlock.

What happens to Brexit if Merkel is forced out?

The German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier held emergency meetings yesterday to persuade the main political parties to restart the coalition talks.

If no coalition agreement can be reached, Merkel has indicated she would rather have fresh elections than try to soldier on as head of a minority government.

But she may be forced to stand down as leader of her CDU party if the country goes to the polls again.

All the frontrunners to succeed her are just as committed to the EU cause and are fully signed up to preserving the four foundations which underpin the EU – the freedom of people, goods, services and capital across borders.

Brexiteers argue the elections could see a rethink on a EU-UK trade deal that would punish German manufacturers. But they could result in victory for Martin Schulz, the leader of the Social Democrats – a former leader of the European Parliament and a vociferous opponent of Brexit.

An additional headache for Britain is Germany is unlikely to have a functioning government until well into the New Year.

The uncertainty means any major Brexit decisions by the EU could be postponed until a new Chancellor is in place, as nobody would wish to agree something which could be overturned at a later date.

Is Emmanuel Macron’s dream in doubt?

France's President Emmanuel Macron (
Image:
Getty)

The French President is impatient to reform the EU. He is pushing for greater integration, a shake-up of labour laws and closer defence co-operation.

Macron also wants to speed up asylum claims, a tax on financial transactions and reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy.

Merkel has tried to temper his plans, but they could bite the dust if Germany elects a government opposed to greater co-operation.

Will the far right rise up?

Fresh elections in Germany could see further gains for the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

In September, it stunned the Berlin establishment by taking 13% of the vote and winning 94 of the 709 seats in the Bundestag. There are fears it could fare even better if new elections are called. So far, all the major parties have refused to form an alliance with the AfD,
but they may have to review that
decision if the party makes
further gains.

If the AfD was to hold the balance of power, the whole EU project could be put at risk.

Who will stand up to Putin and Trump?

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump (
Image:
Getty)

In contrast to Theresa May’s rush to hold Donald Trump’s hand, Merkel has refused to pander to the US President.

If he wished to engage with Germany, she said, he had to follow certain ground rules. Co-operation would be based on the values of “democracy, freedom and respect for the law and the dignity of man, independent of origin, skin colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views”.

The German Chancellor has been equally robust with Putin. She was instrumental in imposing sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea and incursions
into Ukraine.

Both Putin and Trump have an interest in seeing the fall of a woman who, for 12 years, has been the anchor for liberal ideas and free-market economics.

How will the migration crisis be tackled?

The flow of refugees from Libya, Iraq and Syria no longer dominates the headlines, but the problem has not gone away.

There are now fears that without Merkel’s clout, it will be difficult to forge a pan-EU response to
the crisis.

The Chancellor was central in brokering a deal with Turkey to tackle the number of migrants from Syria.

She is now engaged in alleviating the pressure on Greece and Italy – the main arrival points for those fleeing to Europe.

It is in Britain’s interest, given the pressures at Calais, for the migrant crisis to be resolved.