Merkel Succession Gets Serious With Vote for Party Leader
- CDU election will be key step into Germany’s post-Merkel era
- Tight three-man race likely to go to a runoff on Saturday
“I’d like to see us choose a team to lead our proud people’s party,” the chancellor said in opening remarks to the virtual convention on Friday.
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The race to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor will start to take shape when her party elects a new leader on Saturday.
Unlike orderly transitions of the past, a botched succession has led to a tight three-way race between long-time Merkel antagonist Friedrich Merz, moderate state leader Armin Laschet and Norbert Roettgen, a foreign-policy expert and former cabinet member. The winner will see the Christian Democratic Union through national elections in September.