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![]() ![]() Until last fall, Merkel was the unquestionably dominant figure in German politics, with few real rivals. Merkel had been widely expected to run for reelection, although plummeting party poll numbers and disappointing election results suggested that she could face a challenge. The CDU is expected to select its new chair in December at a party conference in the northern German city of Hamburg. Spahn, in particular, has been an outspoken critic of Merkel’s and has advocated that the party move further right on immigration to win back supporters who defected to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Health Minister Jens Spahn, 38, and Friedrich Merz, 63, a former parliamentary leader of the CDU, were named Monday in German news reports as candidates. Merkel’s announcement set off a flurry of speculation in the German media over who would succeed her.Įarlier this year, she appeared to have given her blessing to Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, the onetime leader of the west German state of Saarland and now the CDU’s general secretary.īut the conservative wing of the CDU is also expected to mount a challenge. Just two weeks ago, the CDU’s sister party, the Christian Social Union, sustained similar losses in its home state of Bavaria. On Sunday, the party suffered massive losses during regional elections in the state of Hesse, which has long been a bellwether for the nation. ![]() “But that loyalty doesn’t keep me from seeing the reality, and the reality is that her results are not as good as they used to be.” “It will give us the opportunity to have a very natural relaunch, which was definitely necessary,” said Heilmann, who represents Berlin. Thomas Heilmann, a CDU member of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, said the party’s elected officials were relieved by Merkel’s choice. “There was an overwhelming sense in the party that some freshness was needed.” “The internal pressure was getting too strong,” said Jan Techau, director of the Europe Program at the German Marshall Fund. More important, discontent was rising within the ranks of the CDU. Her coalition partner, the center-left Social Democrats, were contemplating an exit from the government. “But having weighed things very, very carefully, it is a risk I want to take.” “Yes, this is a bit of a risk,” she said. But with Germany, and Europe, becoming ever-more polarized, challengers are likely to push for the party to tack hard to the right.Įither way, Merkel stepping down will mark a major transition for a continent she has shaped for the past 13 years with her handling of multiple debt crises, her decisions on nuclear energy and, most of all, her fateful choice to allow more than 1 million asylum-seekers to enter Germany. Merkel’s preferred heir, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, wants to continue in her tradition of moderation and big-tent centrism. ![]() Whoever emerges atop the CDU will be a favorite to become the next chancellor, perhaps far sooner than the official end of Merkel’s term. The decision reflected pressure on the longest-serving head of state in the European Union after a streak of devastating defeats, and it set off a scramble among would-be successors. Merkel announced that she will step aside as leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at the party’s conference in December and will not run for reelection in 2021. By Griff Witte and Rick Noack | Washington PostīERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel, once the most powerful politician in Europe, acknowledged herself as a lame duck on Monday. ![]()
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