German Chancellor Angela Merkel might have thought her third term would be smooth sailing with an 80 percent majority in the Bundestag.  Instead she’s heading into a crisis meeting with her coalition partners this week to discuss a child porn investigation in the Bundestag.

On Friday, cabinet minister Hans-Peter Friedrich of the Christian Social Union (CSU) was forced to step down over reports he had warned Social Democrat (SPD) leaders that one of its members was under investigation for possessing images of underage boys.  The target of the investigation, SPD lawmaker Sebastian Edathy, resigned his parliamentary seat days before police moved in on his home and offices and seized computers.  He also denies illegal material.

Prosecutors in Hanover complain that the leak may have compromised their case.  Der Spiegel reports that prosecutors and government officials are investigating who might have tipped off Edathy about the probe.

And now, members of Merkel’s Christian Union parties are seeking revenge on the SPD for actions that forced Friedrich to resign as agriculture minister.

“It has the makings of a full coalition crisis but Merkel wants to protect her government and hopes it'll all go away,” said Cologne University political scientist Thomas Jaeger.

Merkel’s plans for her two-month-old government, as well as the world stage, have already been delayed as she recovers from a fractured pelvis in a skiing accident.