Story highlights Tractor trailer barrels into a crowded Berlin Christmas market, killing 12

David A. Andelman: The act could mean that Angela Merkel will be the next moderate European leader to face an uphill battle in her bid for re-election

But the fallout will spread far beyond Germany, threatening to undermine the very fabric of the European Union, writes Andelman

David A. Andelman, editor emeritus of World Policy Journal and member of the board of contributors of USA Today, is the author of "A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today." Follow him on Twitter @DavidAndelman. The views expressed in this commentary are his own.

(CNN) The apparent violent truck assault on Berlin's crowded Breitscheidplatz Christmas market had all the hallmarks of Islamic State terrorism -- the same type of semitruck, the same high speed of 40 miles an hour, the same mass of holiday revelers -- as the horrific attack on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice last summer. In both cases, there were multiple deaths and scores of maimed and injured left in their wake.

But beyond the immediate panic and horror, there also appears to be a potentially more pernicious reward to the forces of the political far right best positioned to capitalize on such a tragedy.

Indeed, the domestic political fallout of both incidents promises to carry far beyond the borders of Germany or France, spreading a radical shift to the right that holds the potential of upsetting not only the ruling elite, but the very glue that holds Europe together.

David A. Andelman

Even while Sven Gerling, a spokesman for the Berlin fire service, was saying , "We are at the scene with a large number of vehicles. The police are too. We are trying to save a number of lives," a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel was assuring the nation that she was being briefed by her interior minister and by the mayor of Berlin.

As police began to dig into the background of the truck's driver, however, it was clear that Merkel would have to do some neat pivoting if she was to win a fourth term as chancellor.

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