The new leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the current German Defence Minister and the anointed successor to Angela Merkel, Annegret Kramer-Karrenbauer (AKK) have announced her decision to step down from her role, and consequently not serve as the CDU candidate in the next Federal Election.
The CDU Press Office said that she is also stepping down as the party’s chairwoman.
This latest development has effectively thrown the succession plan of Angela Merkel into complete disarray.
Depending on the side of the political divide that an individual occupies, this development could either be a stinging indictment of Merkel’s Chancellorship and political legacy or a blip just on her succession plan.
In 2018, Angela Merkel announced that she would not contest the Chancellorship again under the CDU political platform when her current term expires in 2021.
She also stood down as the CDU Party leader and endorsed the ascension of Annegret Kramer-Karrenbauer, however, it appears that this succession plan has effectively failed.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Annegret Kramer-Karrenbauer said the decision to resign had been growing in her mind for some time. She called on the party to become “stronger than today.”
Subtle Renunciation of Merkel’s Politics
Experts believe that the difficulties faced by Annegret Kramer-Karrenbauer in functioning effectively in her role could be an indication of broad-based renunciation of Merkel’s Politics.
It should be noted that Merkel formed a grand coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), and she was criticized by a section of her CDU Party for leaning to the left.
The brewing division within the party was further highlighted last week when a branch of the CDU in the Eastern German State of Thuringia teamed up with the far-right AfD to elect a liberal candidate as the state’s Prime Minister.
Enderlein underscores the significance of this move by asserting that “Thuringia is an example of how the right-wing of the CDU wants to take decisions autonomously and implicitly cooperate with the far-right AfD.”
The recent development especially the inability of Annegret Kramer-Karrenbauer to persuade or force the CDU Branch in Thuringia to tow the official party line weakened her leadership and she was left with few choices, and she promptly stepped down.
It is safe to say that Annegret Kramer-Karrenbauer weakened leadership was largely due to the wider German population’s willingness to move past the Merkel’s politics.
An analyst at Berenberg Bank, Florian Hense argued that despite the chaos, it seemed extremely unlikely that Merkel would change her mind and run again in 2021.
Who Becomes the Next Leader of the CDU?
Merz and Armin Laschet, the prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, are likely to be the top contenders in the next leadership race according to Florian Hense.
It should be recalled that Merz narrowly lost to Annegret Kramer-Karrenbauer in 2018, and wilder opinion suggests that Merz might be more suited to presenting a formidable political stance against the far-right Alternative for Germany when compared to other prospects such as Armin Laschet and Spahn, among others.
More so, Merz could likely be a popular and better choice, especially for those who yearn for radical changes when the political reign of Angela Merkel eventually comes to an end.
Merz is a corporate lawyer who has spent the past decade working for the investment company, BlackRock. If he becomes the next leader of the CDU, he is expected to lean more to the right.
Spahn is also likely to contest the leadership of the CDU, albeit his limited chances are induced by his lack of popularity among the wider German population.
Whoever becomes the next leader of the CDU will face the challenge of reuniting a deeply divided party.
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Consequence of the Unfolding Political Drama
One likely consequence of that will be a greater focus on domestic issues among German political leaders, something which could spell bad news for the European Union, which is desperately looking for strong leadership as it recovers from the United Kingdom’s exit from the bloc.
Enderlein said the episode shows that Merkel is still the cornerstone of German politics. The four-time chancellor is on her way out — and she certainly doesn’t want her legacy to be associated with chaos. But Enderlein warned that might be exactly what’s on the cards.
“Her departure … will leave a big void [and] is likely to fundamentally deeply destabilize the German political system,” he said.
