How the German government's collapse impacts the EU

Following the German government coalition's breakup on Wednesday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he would hold a vote of confidence in January, which could pave the way for new elections as early as March. Opposition party CDU, however, is demanding Scholz holds the vote as early as next week, which could see fresh elections at the end of January.

The coalition split due to irreparable differences over the 2025 household budget, though their past three years in office have been marred by constant inter-party fighting. Differences between the parties' politics have also been magnified by a series of crises that hit Europe and Germany one after the other.

When the "Traffic Light" coalition was elected back in 2021, the COVID fallout had only just begun. Russia had not yet launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine, and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was soon to be shut, sending energy prices and costs rocketing.

The Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Liberals (FDP) clashed repeatedly, drawing major media criticism in Germany.

The German government has now been plunged into complete chaos as US President Trump was elected for a second term, a development which is very likely to see Europe needing to beef up its security and defence as the US follows a more inward-looking policy.

But is it, however, a question of timing?

EU policy expert Dr. Thu Nguyen tells Euronews the breakup was bound to happen.

"Domestically, the breakup of the coalition was inevitable. The signs were there in the days before, and the differences and conflicts between the three coalition partners were just too big to overcome," she says, adding that the timing is unfortunate given that the EU and Germany need strong leadership.

But Dr. Nguyen hopes the situation