Winner of party vote tipped to become Germany’s next chancellor and Europe’s most powerful politician

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a staunchly Catholic conservative career politician, has been elected as the successor to Angela Merkel as leader of Germany’s Christian Democrats.

Kramp-Karrenbauer won by just 25 votes following a nail-biting second round run-off against her main opponent, the multi-millionaire businessman Friedrich Merz.

Wiping away tears, Kramp-Karrenbauer said she would accept the post, and thanked the party for its support and trust in her, insisting she would give new impetus to the party as it seeks to claw back the millions of voters it has lost to rightwing populists and the Greens in recent years.

“We should harness the boost this competition has given us, and use it to propel the party’s success,” she said.

Merkel bows out to applause as CDU votes on successor Read more

Dubbed a mini-Merkel - a title she is determined to discard - Kramp-Karrenbauer was not officially endorsed by the chancellor, but was clearly her favourite, having been propelled by her to the position of the party’s general secretary in February.

But in a veiled sign of her support earlier in the day, Merkel made a point of praising Kramp-Karrenbauer for her contribution to the CDU’s electoral success during a valedictory speech to the party on Friday morning.

The result is seen as making it more likely that Merkel will be able to see out her fourth term until 2021. She has expressed her determination to stay on as chancellor for the remaining three years of her term in office and 56% of Germans support her decision to do so, polls show.

Kramp-Karrenbauer had won the first round of voting, securing 45% or 450 votes, and went on to win 517 votes in the second.

The vote followed a nail-biting contest after Merkel announced in late October she was stepping down as party chief but intended to continue as chancellor until the next elections.

Merz, 63, an economics lawyer who was ousted as parliamentary leader of the CDU by Merkel in 2002, this time received 482 votes in the second round, and 392 in the first.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Friedrich Merz delivers a speech to delegates at the party’s annual conference on Friday. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

He had taken the party by surprise after parachuting in from his high-powered job in the banking industry, insisting he could win back many of the voters the party has lost to rightwing populism.

His supporters said Merz would have been the more courageous option because he was determined to take the party away from the centre ground where Merkel had firmly kept it during her 18 years at the helm.

The vote marks a new era for the party, founded in 1945, which has provided Germany with a chancellor for 50 years of the last seven decades. Merkel told the party faithful on Friday it was “time for a change”.

Kramp-Karrenbauer - or AKK as she is popularly known, not least because many Germans find her double-barrelled name difficult to pronounce - will now be viewed as a potential future chancellor if the CDU wins the next election in 2021.

The mother of three, a self-professed strict Catholic who has served as state leader of Saarland and before that was its interior minister, has a total of 18 years’ leadership experience, all of which stood her in good stead to win the vote.

The third candidate in the running, Jens Spahn, 38, refused to withdraw his candidature, despite pressure from party colleagues to do so when it was clear that support for him was weak. Made health minister in Merkel’s government six months ago, he had been considered a frontrunner for several years to succeed Merkel but was pushed aside when Merz decided to throw his hat into the ring and won the support of party heavyweights, such as the president of the Bundestag and Merkel’s former economics minister Wolfgang Schäuble.

Play Video 1:09 'It was a great honour': Merkel receives standing ovation after farewell speech – video

Spahn secured a higher than expected 157 votes out of 999, but was not eligible for the second round.

Over 1,000 party delegates were eligible to vote on what was described as the most momentous decision for the party in nearly 50 years and one that would decide the future direction not only of the CDU, but also of the country and the continent.

The party has faced a dilemma, to either keep itself on the course set by Merkel – who was determined to secure the centre ground and has turned the CDU into a champion of gay marriage, a minimum wage and a quota for women in politics - or to take it more to the right in an attempt to win back the voters lost to the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).

In Kramp-Karrenbauer it has arguably chosen a safer option than Merz, not least because she is likely to have an easier relationship with Merkel in the chancellery than Merz, who is seen as having a grudge against Merkel. Kramp-Karrenbauer’s victory is a sign that the party wants to continue on the path set for it by Merkel.

Nevertheless, Kramp-Karrenbauer has repeatedly said she would forge her own path, and is decidedly more socially conservative than her predecessor. She told party delegates she was “not a mini version” of Merkel, but her “own person”.

“I have read a lot about what I am and who I am: ‘mini’, a copy, simply ‘more of the same’. Dear delegates, I stand before you as I am and as life made me and I am proud of that,” she said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kramp-Karrenbauer reacts after being announced the winner of the party leadership contest. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters

Although she supported Merkel’s open-door migration policy in 2015, Kramp-Karrenbauer is in favour of tightening migration, she is against same-sex marriage and has argued for more restrictions placed on doctors carrying out abortion.

But she also takes a liberal approach to other issues, voting in favour of a minimum wage, and supporting a women’s quota.

Some say she is still largely an unknown quantity, having played out most of her political life in Saarland.

Thousands of CDU members descended on Hamburg for the spectacle, as well as over 1,600 accredited journalists and hundreds of diplomats and political observers. Watching from the sidelines, Udo Tappe, a long-time CDU member described it as the most exiting moment for the party in decades.

“My heart was with AKK, my head with Merz,” the 77-year-old retired Hamburg estate agent admitted. “I think that Kramp-Karrenbauer is better in that she has a lot more political successes behind her than Merz, but I wonder how she will stand up to the likes of autocrats like Erdogan and Putin, which Merkel did well.”

Earlier in the day Merkel fought back tears after CDU delegates gave her a 10-minute standing ovation after she delivered an emotional speech marking the end of her leadership, which she said had been both “challenging” and “a joy”.

• This article was amended on 11 December 2018. In the first round, Jens Spahn secured 157 votes, not 175 as an earlier version said.</s>Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is elected new leader of Merkel's party

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is elected new leader of Merkel's party.</s>Germany’s ruling centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has backed Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as its new leader, choosing evolution over revolution after its most passionate leadership race in half a century.

After a long day of emotion and suspense, a shell-shocked Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer took to the party conference stage in Hamburg.

Wiping away tears, she promised to unite the party and restore trust in mainstream politics as Angela Merkel stood down after 18 years as CDU leader.

“I accept the election result and thank all for their trust,” she said after a tight leadership race that she said “gave us all a boost”.

Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer was elected with 517 out of 999 delegate votes in a runoff, after failing to secure a majority in the first round.

Her rival Friedrich Merz, a conservative-liberal former Merkel rival, attracted 482 votes and urged all to offer their “full support for our new leader”.

“The last weeks were a perfect lesson in democracy,” he said.

In a tacit acknowledgment of the tight vote – with just 35 votes separating them – Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer promised to work closely with Mr Merz and Jens Spahn, the federal health minister and third-place candidate.

In a passionate speech before the vote Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer challenged perceptions she was a continuity candidate or “mini” Merkel and promised “courage for change” to lead Germany out of its comfort zone.

“This Europe, this Germany, this world needs a strong CDU and that is what we are fighting for,” said Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer.

In a careful side-swipe at a chancellor criticised of tranquilising her party, Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer promised faster decision-making that heeded grassroots concerns.

“We need a strong party that debates and thinks,” she said. “We have 420,000 members, they know things, they want things. We just have to let them.”

The new CDU leader has promised to work closely with Dr Merkel until she stands down – by 2021 at the latest. Friday’s vote in Hamburg opens the door to the new CDU leader, known to all as AKK, as Germany’s next chancellor.

The 53-year-old said she was her own woman, with her own style, but knew the difficulties of combining work and family as a mother of three and political leader of 18 years.

“Leadership depends on inner strength, not volume,” she said, a dig at Mr Merz and acknowledgment her conciliatory style echoes Dr Merkel.

On her watch, she said, Germany would leave its comfort zone, and drive on European integration with a European security council and European army.

The new CDU leader faces a series of challenges: unite the party, drag support up from at 28 per cent, beat back a growing far-right challenge and salvage Berlin’s struggling grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party.

Earlier on Friday, after 6,815 days and a final, 10-minute standing ovation, a tearful Dr Merkel bowed out as leader.

Wearing her trademark awkward smile, Dr Merkel urged the party she has headed since April 2000 to “start a new chapter” and leave Hamburg “well-equipped, motivated and united”.

“I wasn’t born as a chancellor or party leader, truly . . . but I’m filled with a great feeling of thanks, it was a joy and an honour,” she said, her voice catching with emotion for a split second.

The outgoing leader delivered a humorous, thoughtful and self-critical speech. She acknowledged her own failings, in particular how staff and party colleagues were “driven demented” by her hesitation over decisions and her conflict aversion towards political rivals.

From climate change to globalised trade, her successor faced a long list of challenges. And, in a final riposte to her critics, she said she was “proud” of her controversial decision to keep German borders open three years ago to more than one million refugees and asylum seekers.

She mentioned Brexit in just seven words and delivered a double dig at US president Donald Trump. Two days after attending the funeral of George HW Bush, Dr Merkel thanked Bush for resisting triumphalism at the cold war’s end, and warned against abandoning the postwar multilateral order in favour of politics as “deals”.

As a farewell present the party gifted Dr Merkel a baton dedicated to “world politics’ most important conductor”.

Halfway through her ovation, a visibly relieved Dr Merkel urged delegates to sit down and get to work, saying: “We have a lot to do.”</s>Hamburg: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hand off leadership of her party Friday after nearly two decades at the helm, with the race wide open between a loyal deputy and a longtime rival. The contest’s outcome is expected to be crucial in deciding whether Merkel, Europe’s most influential leader, can realise her stated goal of completing her fourth term in 2021 and then leaving politics.

Merkel, 64, is quitting the helm of her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) after a series of poll 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.

“But we won four national elections together... and I am happy I can remain chancellor.”

Merkel has led Germany since 2005, and moved the party and country steadily toward the political centre. 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 Kramp-Karrenbauer (known as AKK) and corporate lawyer Friedrich Merz, are locked in a battle over whether to embrace or break with the veteran chancellor’s legacy.

A third contender, Health Minister Jens Spahn, 38, an outspoken critic of Merkel’s 2015 decision to welcome more than one million asylum seekers to Germany, is seen as being in a distant third place.

While AKK, 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 AKK 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 scepticism that he could work well with Merkel, won the backing of powerful former finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, now the parliamentary speaker.

Both men are seen as harbouring longstanding grudges against the chancellor, after she thwarted Schaeuble’s ambition to become German president and Merz’s desire to remain CDU parliamentary group leader several years ago.

“Schaeuble’s manoeuvre shows: the CDU of the old Germany is trying to make a comeback,” news weekly Der Spiegel said.

“It is the CDU of the (former chancellor Helmut) Kohl years, in which men like Schaeuble and Merz barked orders like military officers and women usually made the coffee.”

National broadsheet Sueddeutsche Zeitung said Schaeuble’s move signalled 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.

AKK is believed to have Merkel’s strong backing but much will depend on how deep and widespread the longing is for a stronger conservative profile.

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, a close Merkel ally, criticised Schaeuble’s vocal support for Merz as divisive and threw his weight behind AKK as a centrist force who can keep voters from drifting to the extremes.

“Since Wolfgang Schaeuble has now opened the floodgates, I can say that I am convinced that Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has the best chance to unite the CDU and win elections,” Altmaier told regional newspaper Rheinische Post.

Whoever wins will face towering challenges for the party, which is currently drawing around 28 percent at the polls, far below the around 40 percent enjoyed during Merkel’s heyday.

It has lost support to the right, in the form of the upstart anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party, and the resurgent Greens.

Meanwhile Germany’s oldest party, the Social Democrats (SPD) -- junior partners in Merkel’s “grand coalition” -- are mired in crisis.

Regardless of which course the CDU charts, it is ironically the SPD that could decide Merkel’s fate.

The party has long languished in Merkel’s shadow and could well decide to jump ship before 2021 to seek to avert further vote debacles.</s>(HAMBURG, Germany) — Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has been elected as the new leader of Merkel’s center-right party.

Kramp-Karrenbauer narrowly defeated Friedrich Merz, a one-time Merkel rival, at a congress of the Christian Democratic Union in Hamburg on Friday. She won 517 votes to Merz’s 482 in a run-off. A third candidate, Health Minister Jens Spahn, was eliminated in a first round of voting.

The 56-year-old Kramp-Karrenbauer has been the CDU’s general secretary, in charge of day-to-day political strategy, since February. She was previously a popular governor of western Saarland state.

She now inherits the task of improving the CDU’s political fortunes and trying to win back voters from rivals to the right and left, while working with Merkel as chancellor until Germany’s next election.</s>(HAMBURG, Germany) — German conservatives on Friday elected an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel to become her party’s new leader — giving her the challenge of opening a new chapter and improving the party’s electoral fortunes after 18 years under Merkel.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, narrowly defeated one-time Merkel rival Friedrich Merz at a congress of the center-right Christian Democratic Union. The result points to policy continuity, and Kramp-Karrenbauer should be able to work well with Merkel as she serves out her term as chancellor.

Kramp-Karrenbauer won a runoff vote by 517 votes to Merz’s 482 after a third candidate, Health Minister Jens Spahn, was eliminated in a first round of voting.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, previously the CDU’s general secretary, embraced Merkel and was quick to call for unity after the vote, saying “there is a place in this party” for her defeated leadership rivals.

Merkel announced in October she would give up the party’s reins but plans to remain chancellor until her current term ends in 2021. However, it’s possible that Germany’s next general election could come earlier.

Kramp-Karrenbauer — often known as “AKK” — will be the favorite to run for chancellor in the next election, though that isn’t automatic. She becomes only the eighth leader of the CDU since World War II. All but two of her predecessors served as chancellor.

She was the closest of the three candidates to Merkel’s centrist stance, though she is no Merkel clone and has consistently shown a greater willingness to cater to conservative rhetoric.

In recent weeks, the new party leader sought to put a careful distance between herself and Merkel without disavowing her, saying she has had “very lively discussions” with the chancellor on various subjects.

She has talked tough on immigration issues, proposing a lifelong entry ban to Europe for asylum-seekers convicted of serious crimes. But she has warned that endlessly rehashing debates about Merkel’s decision to allow in large numbers of migrants in 2015 is a turn-off for voters.

Kramp-Karrenbauer’s pitch centered on her own lengthy experience in regional government, which saw her become the first woman to become a German state’s interior minister, or top security official, and serve as governor of western Saarland state. She gave up that job in February to become the CDU general secretary, in charge of day-to-day strategy.

Kramp-Karrenbauer says she knows how to win elections, having defied expectations to win re-election in Saarland by a wide margin last year.

Merkel has been CDU leader since 2000 and chancellor since 2005. She has moved her party relentlessly to the center, dropping military conscription, accelerating Germany’s exit from nuclear energy and introducing benefits encouraging fathers to look after their young children. She also allowed the introduction of gay marriage, which Kramp-Karrenbauer was more vehement in opposing.

In a farewell speech as leader, Merkel said Friday that “our CDU today is different from the year 2000, and that is a good thing.”

She also celebrated Germany’s balancing its budget in recent years and its response to the eurozone debt crisis.

For years, Merkel’s popularity lifted the CDU and its Bavaria-only sister party, the Christian Social Union. In the 2013 election, they won 41.5 percent of the vote and only just fell short of an outright parliamentary majority.

At present, the center-right bloc is polling around or below 30 percent. Merkel’s fourth-term governing coalition with the center-left Social Democrats has lurched through a series of crises since taking office in March, and the CDU has lost supporters both to the liberal Greens and the far-right Alternative for Germany.

Merkel, however, recalled that the CDU was in a deep crisis when she took over in 2000, mired in a party financing scandal surrounding ex-Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

“We are in demanding times today, no doubt about that,” she said. “But … we faced an hour of destiny for the Christian Democratic Union 18 years ago.”

“We kept a cool head,” she said. “We showed everyone.”

“I wasn’t born as chancellor or as party leader,” she said. “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.”

Merkel was greeted by a long standing ovation, with some delegates holding up “Thank you, boss” placards.</s>HAMBURG (Reuters) - Germany’s Christian Democrats elected Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Friday to replace Angela Merkel as party leader, a decision that moves her into pole position to succeed Europe’s most influential leader as chancellor.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, is Merkel’s protege and was the continuity candidate favored by the party elite. She won the leadership with 517 votes out of 999 votes cast by delegates. Her rival, Friedrich Merz, won 482 votes in a run-off.

A former state premier in Saarland, where she led a three-way coalition, Kramp-Karrenbauer has a reputation for uniting support across the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and a talent for striking alliances with other parties.

Sometimes dubbed “mini Merkel”, Kramp-Karrenbauer is admired by the CDU upper echelons for her appeal across the party.

“I have read a lot about what I am and who I am: ‘mini’, a copy, simply ‘more of the same’. Dear delegates, I stand before you as I am and as life made me and I am proud of that,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a passionate speech to the congress.

Playing up her experience in regional government, she added to cheers and loud applause: “I learned what it is to lead - and above all learnt that leadership is more about being strong on the inside than being loud on the outside.”

Merkel said in October she would step down as party chief but remain chancellor, an effort to manage her exit after a series of setbacks since her divisive decision in 2015 to keep German borders open to refugees fleeing war in the Middle East.

During the leadership campaign, Merz delighted rank-and-file CDU members hungry for a more clearly defined party after 13 years of consensus-type leadership under Merkel by calling for tax cuts and a more robust approach to tackling the far right.

But the party delegates - many of them career politicians - preferred Kramp-Karrenbauer, often known by her initials, AKK.

“She is a safe bet: a centrist candidate who does not threaten nasty surprises,” said Josef Joffe, publisher-editor of weekly Die Zeit.

“Merz was just a bit too free-market, pro-American and pro-defense. Also, his pitch to the convention was wooden compared to AKK’s passionate appeal. Still, he forced her into a run-off, which suggests that AKK will preside over a divided party.”

There was jubilation as the result of the run-off was announced. A tearful Kramp-Karrenbauer thanked her rivals and invited them to share the stage with her in a show of party unity, which delegates applauded.

The Social Democrats (SPD), junior partner in Merkel’s ruling coalition, congratulated Kramp-Karrenbauer and offered to work constructively with her.

“You’ve got big shoes to fill,” SPD leader Andrea Nahles wrote on Twitter. “Good luck! Now it’s time to solve problems: shoring up the future of pensions, recognizing the value of work, strengthening cohesion in Europe. I offer good teamwork.”

The hardline Left party and the far-right Alternative for Germany lamented what they saw as the dawn of “Merkel 2.0”.

Merkel, 64, has presided over Europe’s most populous country and powerful economy for 13 years.

Earlier, an emotional Merkel bowed out as party leader, telling the congress: “It has been a great pleasure for me, it has been an honor.”

Kramp-Karrenbauer has differentiated herself from Merkel on social and foreign policy by voting in favor of quotas for women on corporate boards and taking a tougher line on Russia.

She told Reuters last week that Europe and the United States should consider blockading Russian ships over the Ukraine crisis.

She also took a more cautious stance on the future of Europe than Merz, who said Germany should “contribute more” to the European Union as it benefits from a euro common currency that is “too weak for our economy”.

But on what lies ahead for the CDU, Kramp-Karrenbauer said when campaigning: “I have no particular recipe.”

That practical, non-ideological approach is similar to the style Merkel has employed as chancellor. Party insiders say Kramp-Karrenbauer gets on well with Merkel. “The chemistry is good,” said one senior CDU official.</s>HAMBURG (Reuters) - Germany’s Christian Democrats elected Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Friday to replace Angela Merkel as party leader, a decision that moves her into pole position to succeed Europe’s most influential leader as chancellor.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, is Merkel’s protege and was the continuity candidate favored by the party elite. She won the leadership with 517 votes out of 999 votes cast by delegates. Her rival, Friedrich Merz, won 482 votes in a run-off.

A former state premier in Saarland, where she led a three-way coalition, Kramp-Karrenbauer has a reputation for uniting support across the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and a talent for striking alliances with other parties.

Sometimes dubbed “mini Merkel”, Kramp-Karrenbauer is admired by the CDU upper echelons for her appeal across the party.

“I have read a lot about what I am and who I am: ‘mini’, a copy, simply ‘more of the same’. Dear delegates, I stand before you as I am and as life made me and I am proud of that,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a passionate speech to the congress.

Playing up her experience in regional government, she added to cheers and loud applause: “I learned what it is to lead - and above all learnt that leadership is more about being strong on the inside than being loud on the outside.”

Merkel said in October she would step down as party chief but remain chancellor, an effort to manage her exit after a series of setbacks since her divisive decision in 2015 to keep German borders open to refugees fleeing war in the Middle East.

There was jubilation as the result of the run-off was announced. A tearful Kramp-Karrenbauer thanked her rivals and invited them to share the stage with her in a show of party unity, which delegates applauded.

Earlier, an emotional Merkel bowed out as party leader, telling the congress: “It has been a great pleasure for me, it has been an honor.”

Kramp-Karrenbauer has differentiated herself from Merkel on social and foreign policy by voting in favor of quotas for women on corporate boards and taking a tougher line on Russia.

She told Reuters last week that Europe and the United States should consider blockading Russian ships over the Ukraine crisis.

But on what lies ahead for the CDU, Kramp-Karrenbauer said when campaigning: “I have no particular recipe.”

During the campaign, she took a more cautious stance on the future of Europe than Merz, who said Germany should “contribute more” to the European Union as it benefits from a euro common currency that is “too weak for our economy”.

Last month, Kramp-Karrenbauer told a business conference: “With every wish to take Europe forward with a German-French nucleus, the proposals must always fit with German interests.”

Party insiders say she gets on well with Merkel. “The chemistry is good,” said one senior CDU official.</s>HAMBURG: Chancellor Angela Merkel 's party is meeting to elect a new leader who could help shape Germany's political direction for the next generation.A close ally of Merkel's and a one-time rival are considered favorites for the job to lead the center-right Christian Democratic Union.Merkel announced in October she would give up the reins in her party, though she plans to serve her current term as chancellor.Three high-profile contenders have toured Germany to drum up support.Friday's vote pits CDU general secretary Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a Merkel ally, against Friedrich Merz , a former leader of the party's parliamentary group who stands for a more conservative approach and has been away from front-line politics for a decade.Health Minister Jens Spahn , another Merkel critic, is considered the outsider.</s>The Latest: Merkel says her party must look to the future

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — The Latest on the election of a successor to Angela Merkel as Christian Democratic Union party leader (all times local):

Chancellor Angela Merkel has celebrated her 18 years at the helm of Germany's main center-right party in her final speech as leader, urging members to show unity as it opens a new chapter.

In a speech Friday before the Christian Democratic Union elects a new leader, Merkel recalled that she took office in 2000 when the party was in a deep crisis. She said that "we kept a cool head" and "we showed everyone" by recovering.

Merkel told a party congress in Hamburg that "our CDU today is different from the year 2000, and that is a good thing." She said the party must not look to the past but the future.

Her half-hour speech was greeted with a several-minute standing ovation. Some delegates held up placards saying "Thank you, boss!"

Chancellor Angela Merkel's party is meeting to elect a new leader who could help shape Germany's political direction for the next generation.

A close ally of Merkel's and a one-time rival are considered favorites for the job to lead the center-right Christian Democratic Union.

Merkel announced in October she would give up the reins in her party, though she plans to serve her current term as chancellor.

Three high-profile contenders have toured Germany to drum up support.

Friday's vote pits CDU general secretary Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a Merkel ally, against Friedrich Merz, a former leader of the party's parliamentary group who stands for a more conservative approach and has been away from front-line politics for a decade.

Health Minister Jens Spahn, another Merkel critic, is considered the outsider.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer succeeds Angela Merkel as the new chairperson of the Christian Democratic Union, one of the major political parties in Germany.