The End of the German Government: How Chancellor Olaf Scholz Brought His Coalition to an End

"I no longer want you to be a member of my cabinet and will inform the federal president that you are being dismissed," the chancellor says, according to meeting participants. Lindner, say participants, seems shaken. And then he says: "Okay." Such is the end of this coalition. Two years, 10 months, four weeks and one day after it began its tenure.

The last time a government collapsed in Germany was more than four decades ago. In 1982, the FDP switched sides, opting to abandon the governing SPD and join forces with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), turning from Helmut Schmidt to Helmut Kohl.

Now, it's over. The three-party coalition that spent much of the last three years bickering, despite showing a remarkable ability to find some sort of minimal compromise to keep going. Now, it's over.

Wednesday was a day of political upheaval. It began with liberal democracy being steamrolled in the United States, as voters handed Donald Trump a surprisingly one-sided victory, sending him back to the White House for a second term.

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