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. 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. 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. “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”.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer succeeds Angela Merkel as the new chairperson of the Christian Democratic Union, one of the major political parties in Germany.