Merkel’s party to vote for new leader, new era
HAMBURG — German Chancellor Angela Merkel was expected to hand over leadership of the conservative Christian Democratic Union on Friday after nearly two decades at the helm, with the race wide open between a loyal deputy and a longtime rival.
The new party leader will then move into pole position to succeed her as chancellor.
The contest’s outcome was expected to be crucial in deciding whether Merkel could realize her stated goal of completing her fourth term in 2021 and then leave politics.
Merkel, 64, is quitting the leadership of the CDU after a series of electoral setbacks rooted in controversy over her liberal refugee policy.
“I’m very grateful that I could be party chairwoman for 18 years — it is a very, very long time and the CDU of course had its ups and downs,” Merkel said as she arrived at the conference venue in Hamburg.
Merkel has led Germany since 2005, and moved the party and nation steadily toward the political center. More generous family leave, an exit from nuclear power and an end to military conscription were among her signature policies.
The two main candidates, CDU deputy leader Annegret KrampKarrenbauer and corporate lawyer Friedrich Merz, are locked in a battle over whether to embrace or break with the veteran chancellor’s legacy.
While Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, is viewed as a keeper of the flame and similar to Merkel with an even temper and middle-of-the-road policies, Merz, 63, has become the torchbearer for those seeking a more decisive break with the chancellor.
“The Merkel era is palpably coming to an end,” political journalist and Kramp-Karrenbauer’s biographer Kristina Dunz said.
“Merz could be tempted to see his revenge and lunge for power (as soon as next year).”
This week, Merz, who has insisted in the face of widespread skepticism that he could work well with Merkel, won the backing of powerful former finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, now the parliamentary speaker.
“Schaeuble’s maneuver shows: The CDU of the old Germany is trying to make a comeback,” news weekly Der Spiegel said.
The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said Schaeuble’s move signaled that the CDU’s long-festering divisions, thinly veiled by unity behind Merkel, could well break out in the open after the conference.
“The CDU of the Merkel years is falling apart,” it said. “Opposing camps are forming.”
Few observers have dared to predict how the 1,000 delegates — political and party office holders — will vote.