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BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday told her conservative leaders that she would not run for the party presidency, senior party sources said, heralding the end of a period 13 years in which she dominated European politics.
PHOTO FILE: German Chancellor Angela Merkel adjusts her headset at a press conference with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis (unseen) in Prague, Czech Republic, on October 26, 2018. REUTERS / David W. Cerny / Photo File
Merkel, 64, has been president of her conservative Christian Democrat Party (CDU) since 2000 and Chancellor since 2005. According to party sources, Merkel wants to remain Chancellor until 2021, by which time the next federal election must have place.
This announcement caused a brief fall in the euro and a rise in German bond yields.
Leaving the presidency of the CDU would further undermine Merkel's authority, which has already been affected this year by two regional electoral setbacks and by a close ally who loses its role as leader of the conservative party's parliamentary group.
Merkel has taken a leading role on the European scene since 2005, helping to guide the European Union through the eurozone crisis and opening the doors of Germany to migrants fleeing the war in the Middle East in 2015 – an initiative that still divides the block and Germany.
"We are witnessing the continuation of the scheme in place since Merkel's mistakes during the 2015 migration crisis: the gradual but steady erosion of her political power," said Carsten Nickel, managing director of Teneo, a consulting firm .
"Rather than total instability in Germany and Europe, it simply means maintaining the current void in leadership."
Merkel's weakness at home could limit her ability to lead the European Union at a time when the EU is addressing Brexit, a fiscal crisis in Italy and the prospect of winning populist parties in the May European Parliament elections. next.
His decision follows a second electoral setback in as many weeks for Merkel's conservative alliance. At a Sunday vote in the state of Hesse, in the west of the country, the CDU came out on top but lost 11 percentage points of support compared to the last elections in 2013.
"With these latest results, it just became untenable that Merkel continues to lead the CDU," said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director of Eurasia Group, a consulting firm.
"But the news may not be all bad, as it could increase the chances that Merkel is looking for a high-level job in the EU next year," he added. .
When Merkel took office in 2005, George W. Bush was American President, Jacques Chirac was at the Elysee Palace in Paris and Tony Blair was British Prime Minister.
The news that she was no longer seeking the party presidency was a shock to many CDU officials who thought the party's outcome in Hesse might have been worse.
Merkel would withdraw from the party president, which would allow a new president of the CDU to profile before the next national elections. Merkel's favorite successor is CDU General Secretary Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Several conservative sources said that Friedrich Merz, a former leader of the Merkel conservative alliance, was ready to run for president of the CDU at the party congress in December.
Additional report by Joseph Nasr; Edited by Raissa Kasolowsky
