Germany’s Merkel weakened by fall of long-serving ally

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered an unexpected blow to her authority on Tuesday when her conservatives cast out longstanding ally Volker Kauder as head of the parliamentary party, reflecting rising discontent with her 13-year- old leadership.

The upset, described variously as a ‘ political thunderbolt’ and ‘ the beginning of the end of the Merkel era’ by opposition leaders, was widely taken as a sign that lawmakers want more say in shaping the policies of her fourth and final government.

The victory of Ralph Brinkhaus, a deputy leader of the conservative group in the Bundestag ( lower house), marks a turning point since Kauder had accompanied Merkel, serving in effect as her parliamentary right hand, throughout her 13 years in office.

“You could call it MerkelDaemmerung ( Twilight),” said Alexander Gauland, leader of the far- right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which entered the Bundestag for the first time after last year’s election and now ranks second in polls.

“It’s a further step towards the end of the Merkel government, which I believe will end far sooner than we can imagine today.”

Merkel, whose stewardship of Europe’s largest economy shaped the 2008 euro zone crisis, the 2015 refugee crisis and the continent’s reaction to the United States’ unilateral turn under Donald Trump, congratulated Brinkhaus in a terse statement.

“I hoped Kauder could remain group leader because I worked well with him. But Brinkhaus got the most votes. I congratulated him and offered him good cooperation,” she told reporters.

Though Brinkhaus, 50, scored a relatively narrow 125-112 victory over Kauder, 69, in the conservative group — comprising Merkel’s Christian Democrats ( CDU) and Bavaria’s Christian Social Union ( CSU), the upset was a clear sign of lawmakers’ growing disenchantment with Merkel’s ruling style. — Reuters