Germany: Kramp-Karrenbauer to step down as CDU leader

Germany’s largest party’s future was thrown into doubts after Annegret Kramp-5Karrenbauer announced her plans to step down as the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and to not succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor in 2021.

Kramp-Karrenbauer who is commonly known by her initials “AKK” in the German-language media was seen as Merkel’s preferred successor to the German Chancellery. She announced her plans during a meeting of the party’s executive committee on Monday morning.

The CDU leader said she will remain as Defence Minister until the end of the legislative period, while she also stated that her decision will not have an impact on the stability of the governing coalition made up of the CDU, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democratic Party (SPD)
.
The decision came amid the political crisis in the eastern German state of Thuringia, where the regional CDU branch voted against Kramp-Karrenbauer’s wish and joined with the liberals of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to elect Thomas Kemmerich as state premier.

Read more at: Kramp-Karrenbauer to step down as CDU leader | New Europe

Germany: AKK says Merkel to remain Chancellor for 3 years

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer says Merkel is safe, for now

Read more at:
https://p.dw.com/p/39jbn

GERMANY: Angela Merkel's CDU elects Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK) as the new CDU party leader

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s final speech as leader of her party was met with an 11-minute standing ovation on Friday.

The address marked the beginning of her gradual exit from both German politics and the world stage. Merkel has led the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2000, and been the country's chancellor since 2005.

“It is now the time to open a new chapter, it was a great pleasure for me, it was an honor,” Merkel said as she concluded her speech. Delegates held up signs reading: “Thank You, Boss.

”

Merkel, 64, later handed the baton to a successor at the party congress in Hamburg.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who was widely seen as the chancellor's favorite and has been branded a "mini-Merkel" by some media outlets, was elected as her replacement on Friday.

Kramp-Karrenbauer — who often goes by her initials AKK — got about 52 percent of the vote in in a run-off with Friedrich Merz, a former lawmaker who left politics to work as a corporate lawyer.

German party leaders, including Merkel, have traditionally been selected through backroom deals and faced no competition during confirmation votes at party conventions.

But for the first time since 1971, CDU delegates were on Friday given the opportunity to elect their new party leader from among several candidates.

Like Merkel, Kramp-Karrenbauer represents the more moderate wing of their party. The 56-year-old (born 9 August 1962) is a mother of three who previously served as the governor of the small German state of Saarland.

The two other candidates who hoped to replace her for the CDU post had both openly criticized some of the chancellor’s policies in the past.

Jens Spahn, Germany's 38-year-old health minister, repeatedly spoke out against Merkel's open-door migration policy which resulted in the arrival of nearly a million refugees.

Read more: Angela Merkel's CDU elects Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as party leader