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Merkel Party Leader’s Ultimatum Contains Rebels, For Now

Kramp-Karrenbauer tells opponents to back or abandon her
Key rival Merz signals backing down for now, pledging loyalty

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks during the CDU convention in Leipzig, on Nov. 22. — Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks during the CDU convention in Leipzig, on Nov. 22.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

By

Patrick Donahue and

November 22, 2019, 12:52 PM UTCUpdated onNovember 22, 2019, 5:08 PM UTC

The head of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union defused a brewing leadership challenge on Friday with a blunt ultimatum that buys her time, but may not quell dissent.

CDU party chief, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, told delegates at the annual party convention in Leipzig, Germany they either needed to support or abandon her at once. If they didn’t share the path she had chosen for the party, they should “discuss it today and end it today.”