Germany: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Merkel's runner-up, steps down

Text by: RFI Follow

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the runner-up to Angela Merkel, announced Monday February 10, 2020 that she is giving up on succeeding Angela Merkel and that she wants to step down as party chairman.

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The runner throws in the towel. The current president of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer , nicknamed by her initials "AKK", announced on Monday that she would not be a candidate for the German chancellery and that she wanted to leave the presidency of the conservative party.

► To read: [Portrait] Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Merkel's heiress at the head of the CDU

She justified her decision by evoking the political crisis that opened with the alliance with the extreme right in Thuringia. " Part of the CDU has an unclear relationship with the AfD, " AKK said, adding that it rejected any alliance, either with the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) or with the radical left embodied by Die Linke.

In addition to her position as president of the party, she is expected to step down in the coming months in the chancellery in 2021. She " does not aim to be a candidate for the German chancellery ," added the president. " AKK will organize the selection process for the candidacy for the chancellery this summer ," a source close to the movement told AFP.

(with AFP)

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• Germany
• Angela Merkel

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