The chosen successor to Merkel
The German party “Christian democratic Union”, was elected the new Chairman.
Upstairs
Angela Merkel, who held the post for 18 years, will be replaced by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. This decision was taken at the party Congress in Hamburg on Friday, 7 December, reports Reuters.
The party’s Secretary General and former Prime Minister of Saarland in the struggle for the post surpassed former head of the CDU and the Christian social Union (CSU) in the Bundestag, Friedrich Merz. They received 517 and 482 votes respectively. The third candidate of the major candidates — health Minister Jens Spahn, has disappeared after the first round of voting.
Only Congress participates 1001 delegate. Election of the Chairman of the CDU are anonymous. To win in the first round a candidate must gain an absolute majority of votes. If not, a second round in which there are two contenders that received the most support.
Earlier on December 7 Merkel on his last speech on the post of the Chairman of the CDU stated that “the time has come to open a new Chapter”. She pointed out that to build a future we can only with certainty in the soul, but not with grievances strife, and urged Democrats to unite, leads her words Zeit. It caused a storm of applause, which lasted nine minutes, some delegates accompanied Merkel with tears in his eyes.
29 October it became known that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is not going to stay on a post of the Chairman of the CDU. She also stated that her current term as head of the government will last, after which it does not intend “to occupy any political office.”