End of the road

29 October 2018 By Swaha Pattanaik Follow @swahapattanaik

Germany’s chancellor has called time on her own tenure by deciding to not seek re-election as chairwoman of her party, the Christian Democrats. They could shift rightwards after her departure and adopt a tougher line on those, like Italy, who flout Europe’s budget rules.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told leaders of her Christian Democrats (CDU) that she will not seek re-election as party chairwoman at a conference in early December, a senior party source said on Oct. 29.

Merkel has been CDU chairwoman since 2000 and giving up the role would start a race within the party to succeed her as chancellor.

The Christian Democrats were first in an election held on Oct. 28 in the western state of Hesse but support for the party fell by more than 11 points. The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), who are Merkel’s junior coalition partner, won about a fifth of the vote, their worst result in the western state since 1946.

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