Rob Hamilton looks at what to expect over the next fortnight.

Following this week’s reshuffle, we will get a chance in the coming fortnight to assess how some of Theresa May’s new Cabinet ministers are adapting to their briefs, although these are fewer in number than they might have been, following a number of abortive sackings. Appointed in November, Gavin Williamson will face only his second grilling in the House of Commons, offering us a glimpse of the former whip’s grasp of the Ministry of Defence. We will also see David Gauke uncorked at Justice Questions, the first time since 2012 that a former lawyer has taken control of the department following a succession of ministers with no prior legal experience.

Tomorrow could be a pivotal moment for Brexit talks, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel hits her self-imposed deadline for talks on forming a Grand Coalition government between her Christian Democrats and former European Parliament President Martin Schulz’s Social Democrats. This follows her weaker than expected performance in the September 2017 federal elections, and subsequent failure to form a ‘Jamaica’ coalition – joining her black Christian Democrats with the yellow Free Democrats and Green Greens.

Another election in Germany could mean Brexit trade talks are delayed between the UK and EU, with the bloc’s foremost power unable to put its impetus behind a negotiating position. The prospect of losing Merkel, a widely-regarded pragmatist, means the UK faces an unknown quantity and more political and economic uncertainty in whoever takes over as Chancellor in Germany. The rumoured frontrunner for leadership of the Christian Democrats is Ursula von der Leyen, the current Defence Minister and a keen proponent of deeper European political and economic integration – potentially problematic for the UK’s post-Brexit ambitions.