Angela Merkel loyalist Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer succeeds chancellor as CDU leader
The new leader is now a favourite to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor, although her CDU Party is facing uncertainty.
Friday 7 December 2018 19:20, UK
Angela Merkel loyalist Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has been elected as the new leader of the German chancellor's party.
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) chose the former chief minister of Saarland on Friday to replace Mrs Merkel as party leader.
Her election puts her in pole position to become Germany's next chancellor, with Mrs Merkel serving out her final term until 2021.
Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, who is considered a protege of Mrs Merkel, was the candidate favoured by senior figures in the party and indicates a continuation of the current leader's centrist stance.
She beat CDU rival Friedrich Merz narrowly, claiming 517 votes of the 999 cast by party delegates.
After the result was announced she was quick to call for unity, saying there was a "place in the party" for leadership rivals.
Her task now is to improve the standing of the CDU, fight to win back voters on the left and the right and work with Mrs Merkel closely.
Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer, who led a three-way coalition in Saarland, is known for her ability to unite support across the conservative CDU and for her ability to strike alliances with other parties.
She has been the CDU's general secretary, in charge of day-to-day political strategy, since February.
While close to Mrs Merkel in many areas, she has been careful to distance herself on some topics and says she and the chancellor have had "very lively discussions" together.
She has avoided debates about Mrs Merkel's decision to accept large numbers of refugees into Germany in 2015, but at other times has advocated a tough anti-migrant stance, proposing a life ban on entry to Europe for asylum seekers convicted of serious crimes.
Presenting herself as a politician who can win elections, she comes to the leadership role as the CDU and its sister party, the Christian Social Union, are confronting a period of political uncertainty.
Polling at around 30% - down from the 41.5% with which they won the 2013 vote - the party have lost votes to both the far-right Alternative for Germany and the liberal Green Party.
In her farewell speech, Mrs Merkel celebrated Germany balancing its budgets and told supporters that the CDU was "different from the year 2000, and that is a good thing".
"I wasn't born as chancellor or as party leader," she added. "I have always wanted to do my government and party jobs with dignity, and one day to leave them with dignity... now it is time to open a new chapter."