![]() ![]() In an apparent attempt to bolster her credibility, Merkel appointed Kramp-Karrenbauer defense minister in July. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds flowers as she hands over the chancellery to her successor, newly appointed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. 'He is, in many ways, Merkel in a men's suit.' While polls suggest German voters aren't yet convinced he really is Merkel's successor, Laschet is often underestimated, Puglierin says. "She's been number one in the party, but not number one in the government," said Gero Neugebauer, a political scientist at the Free University in Berlin. Kramp-Karrenbauer's position as party leader was also weakened by her lack of executive authority, analysts say. Kramp-Karrenbauer took over a party split between centrist and right-wing voices over Merkel's decision in 2015 to open Germany's doors to more than a million largely Middle Eastern refugees, many of whom were fleeing the war in Syria. Kramp-Karrenbauer was Merkel's chosen successor after the chancellor, who has led Germany for 14 years, announced she would not seek a new term in elections scheduled for 2021. Scholz, right, talks to Chancellor Angela Merkel during the budget 2008 session of the German Bundestag, NovemFabrizio Bensch/Reuters By Ruairi Casey Published On 30 Sep. ![]() Friedrich Merz, 63, who narrowly lost the party leadership to Kramp-Karrenbauer last year, last month described the government's image as "abysmal," adding that inertia has been "hanging over this country like a blanket of fog for years." Nationally, the CDU, which governs in a coalition with two other parties, is polling at around 25 percent.Īs it slumps, the party has been consumed by infighting. In recent local and European elections, some voters have turned instead to the Greens and the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party. Kramp-Karrenbauer, 57, also known by her initials AKK, has endured a turbulent 12 months since taking the helm of the Christian Democrats (CDU) at last year's conference. With an extension of the grand coalition effectively ruled out by the SPD, Armin Laschet, Merkels successor as CDU leader, made overtures to the Greens and FDP. Olaf Scholz looks likely to succeed German chancellor Angela Merkel following his party’s victory in the country’s federal elections on Sunday (Sept. ![]() But her position remains far from secure. The seven-minute standing ovation that followed, along with a conciliatory speech from her main rival, suggested she had managed to foil immediate attempts to oust her. ![]()
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