Merkel ally could be next German Chancellor

A CLOSE ally of Angela Merkel is favourite to succeed her as German Chancellor after being elected leader of the governing Christian Democratic Union party.

Armin Laschet, pictured, the son of a coalminer, won the race at the party’s annual conference. Merkel had held the role from 2000 to 2018.

Laschet, the prime minister of North Rhine-westphalia, saw off Friedrich

Merz, a prominent conservative who argued that Merkel had allowed

Germany to drift too much to the centre. Laschet delivered a conciliatory speech, saying: “We’ll only win if we remain strong in the centre of society.”

A believer in European integration, he criticised Merkel last February for not reacting quickly to proposals by French president Emmanuel Macron for deep EU reforms.

He said that Brexit and the financial and migration crises had made it difficult to focus on “great European visions”.

Merkel is due to step down following a general election in September

after 16 years as German leader.