Mrs Merkel has been leader of the CDU since 2000, and Chancellor for 13 years, a period which has seen her dominate EU and world politics.. She has also ruled out running for a senior position in the European Union after the European parliament elections next year, members of her Christian Democrats (CDU) conservative party said. Two weeks ago, two of the federal governing parties in Merkel's "grand coalition" of what have traditionally been Germany's strongest political forces — the Christian Social Union, the Bavaria-only sister to Merkel's CDU, and the Social Democrats — were battered in a state election in neighboring Bavaria. The election campaign in prosperous Hesse, which includes Germany's financial center of Frankfurt, has been largely overshadowed by the woes of a federal coalition that has been in office only since March. BERLIN (AP) — The Latest on Germany's local election the central state of Hesse (all times local):

Exit polls show Chancellor Angela Merkel's party leading in a state election in the central German region of Hesse, but a significant drop in support for both her conservatives and their center-left partners in the national government. Citing unidentified party sources, dpa reported that Merkel told an ongoing CDU leadership meeting Monday that she's prepared to step down as party leader but intends to remain chancellor. She said her party would insist on Merkel's governing coalition agreeing on "a clear, binding timetable" for implementing projects, and that how that is implemented ahead of an already-agreed midterm review next fall will show "whether we are still in the right place in this government."
Voters in the German state of Hesse go to the polls to elect a new legislature. The election is widely considered a test for Angela Merkel's ruling CDU–SPD coalition.