Berlin
Angela Merkel’s centre-right CDU will choose a new leader at a special congress in April or May, sources said on Monday, as the party scrambles to prepare for the veteran German chancellor’s departure. Merkel’s initial heir apparent, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, resigned as party leader this month over a scandal involving apparent cooperation with the far right. The surprise move threw open the race to succeed Merkel, who has been in power for more than 14 years and plans to bow out at the next general elections in 2021. The Christian Democratic Union’s extraordinary party congress in spring should anoint a new chairman, who would then be almost sure to become the party’s candidate for chancellor.
