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The political instability that has rocked the German government could set in motion the breakup of the European Union, according to Paul Mason, a left-wing commentator. Angela Merkel faces a make-or-break week as German Chancellor, after leading figures in her sister party, the Christian Social Union, gave her a stark ultimatum. In an unprecedented challenge to Mrs Merkel's authority, the CSU will give Chancellor Angela Merkel a two-week deadline to meet its demands for overhauling asylum policy, according to German paper Bild. Speaking on the BBC's Politics Europe, Mason said Angela Merkel's instability, sparked following a migration debate, could become a "nightmare scenario" for Europe.

Merkel under pressure: Government collapse could trigger rise of right

The German leader will then face a choice between a humiliating climbdown on migration policy, or firing her interior minister, which would likely trigger a government collapse. Mason explained: "I think the big danger in all of our nightmares whether you are pro- or anti-European Union, the nightmare is that it breaks up in an uncontrollable way. "The way it does that is if the Merkel government falls and switches to the right, as the Austrian government did. "Alexander Dobrindt, the leader of the CSU, the sister party of Merkel's, has come out really strongly with this Austrian and Italian line and that is undermining Merkel’s authority."

The big danger in all of our nightmares whether you are pro- or anti-European Union, the nightmare is that it breaks up in an uncontrollable way Paul Mason

At this point, commentator Julia Hartley-Brewer jumped in and said Mrs Merkel had "undermined her own authority when she let a million people undocumented into her country." Mason agreed, and added: "She cancelled Dublin III unilaterally and that is a simmering problem for Europe." The latest reports of an ultimatum to Mrs Merkel risks plunging the country deeper into chaos. Mr Dobrindt has said he was "100 percent" in support of Interior Minister Horst Seehofer's so-called plan for migration – something Merkel has vehemently opposed.

Hartley-Brewer jumped in and said Mrs Merkel had "undermined her own authority"