Merkel grooms close ally to succeed her as Christian party head

Angela Merkel is pushing for the governor of Germany’s tiny western state of Saarland to run her party’s day-to-day operations, putting her close ally in the prime position to eventually succeed the German chancellor as leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Mrs Merkel said she wanted the party to elect Annegret Kramp-karrenbauer to the post of general secretary.

The party’s existing general secretary, Peter Tauber, is stepping down after facing health issues.

Speaking alongside Ms Kramp-karrenbauer at the party’s headquarters in Berlin, Mrs Merkel said the 55-year-old Catholic would bring a lot of experience and credibility to the role at a time when the Christian Democrats are under pressure to define their political positions. Conservative voters have abandoned the party in recent years.

The shift has partly been triggered over Mrs Merkel’s welcoming stance on immigration, even though it still came first in September’s election with almost 33 per cent of the vote.

“We are experiencing one of the most difficult political phases in the history of [postwar] Germany,” Ms Krampkarrenbauer said.

She was explaining why she was willing to leave her post as governor of one of Germany’s 16 states to devote her energy to the party’s headquarters in Berlin.

Ms Kramp-karrenbauer has been governor of Saarland on Germany’s western border with France and Luxembourg since 2011.

During that time, she has worked to make French a second language in the state and improve economic, cultural and political ties with France.

Mrs Merkel was elected general secretary in 1998, a role that traditionally involves managing the party’s campaigns and developing its political messages.

She went from general secretary to party leader in 2000 and became Germany’s chancellor five years later.

Asked whether she considered herself Mrs Merkel’s “crown princess” now, Ms Kramp-karrenbauer, who is often referred to by her acronym AKK in German media, said: “I was never suited for princess roles.”

A fluent French speaker, Ms Kramp-karrenbauer commands respect in the party for her factual approach to policy making.

She impressed the chancellor last month when, after a car crash, she continued work on coalition negotiations from her hospital bed.

She has in the past been dubbed “mini Merkel” and is now expected to be voted into the new role at a CDU party congress on 26 February.