Conservatives: Merkel ally to be party leader

HAMBURG, GERMANY» After a year in which she was repeatedly written off as politically dead, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was given new life and a more secure legacy Friday when her fellow conservatives picked her close ally and preferred successor to take over as party leader.

The selection of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a 56-year-old moderate whose unflashy and consensual style resemble Merkel’s own, signaled a preference for continuity over radical change among members of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Kramp-Karrenbauer now becomes the de facto chancellor in waiting, though it may be years before she ascends to the nation’s top office. Merkel has said she intends to stay until 2021, and with her ally as party leader, that is at least possible.

Merkel’s hold on power would have been dramatically weaker had the party picked the other main contender, 63-year-old corporate chieftain Friedrich Merz. He had represented for many supporters a chance to return the CDU to its conservative roots after 18 years in which Merkel has steered the party to the center — and even the left.

Kramp-Karrenbauer won Friday’s vote at the CDU’s annual convention in the second round of balloting, eking out a bare majority in a closely divided party. The final tally was 517 votes for Kramp-Karrenbauer and 482 for Merz after a third candidate, Health Minister Jens Spahn, was eliminated.

The result electrified the hall, and prompted an unusual display of elation from a normally stoic Merkel: She welcomed Kramp-Karrenbauer to the stage with a hug and squeezed her shoulders, all the while beaming.

A visibly moved KrampKarrenbauer wiped away tears and celebrated with a speech appealing to party unity, vowing to “keep the center strong.” Then, in line with her reputation for inclusiveness, she invited her rivals to share the stage.

In a conciliatory concession speech that reflected the friendly tone of the campaign, Merz urged his supporters to “use all your strength to back AKK.”

Merkel has been a giant not only of German politics but also of European and world affairs. She has transformed the country during her tenure and played a central role in resolving a seemingly endless string of international crises.

Now she has a chance at the sort of satisfying end to a political career that has eluded other major world leaders, including her friend Barack Obama: an amicable transfer of power to a successor of her choice, one likely to protect her legacy.

In Kramp-Karrenbauer, she gets a partner who shares both her outlook and her style. Last spring, Merkel tapped her to be general secretary — the No. 2 job in the party — in a move widely seen as an effort to groom her for national leadership. Before that, KrampKarrenbauer had been state premier in the tiny west German region of Saarland, where she was known for working across party lines and earned widespread approval.

She is an observant Catholic who is conservative on some social issues, including in her opposition to gay marriage. But she has also championed women’s rights.