German Chancellor Angela Merkel is under increasing pressure to explain when she was informed about civilian casualties from September's air raid on two hijacked fuel tankers in Afghanistan. She may face unpleasant questions in a parliamentary inquiry. The opposition parties smell blood.

Chancellor Angela Merkel likely imagined the first week of advent wouldn't start quite like this. On Monday, she was at Bellevue Palace - the residence of German President Horst Kohler - with a forced smile firmly installed on her face. The Christmas tree has already been installed in the palace foyer, but Merkel was not there for festivities. Rather, Monday was when Franz Josef Jung, who resigned from Merkel's cabinet on Friday, was officially released from his duties.

"All the best," Merkel told Jung, who, like the chancellor, is a member of the conservative Christian Democrats. Jung, who had never quite seemed comfortable during his stint at the pinnacle of German politics, seemed almost pleased to relinquish his official duties, relieved to be leaving the Berlin pressure cooker behind. Merkel, for her part, hurried to her car and sped off.

For the chancellor, the pressure only promises to get worse. Jung tripped up over the German-ordered bombing of two tanker-trucks in Afghanistan which resulted in dozens of civilian deaths. He resigned from his position as labor minister, but he was defense minister in early September when the bombing occurred. Jung was the third person to lose his job over the incident - Germany's top soldier, Bundeswehr Inspector General Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Deputy Defense Minister Peter Wichert also resigned last week - but pressure has only grown on Merkel's new Defense Minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg. And on Merkel herself.

Merkel sought to avoid the impression that she had forced Jung out. Had she been strident in her critique of her party ally, it may have looked as though further steps were necessary - as though she too carried some responsibility. In the end, Jung resigned of his own accord leaving Merkel the opportunity to praise him for being a "fine man."