Germany’s Angela Merkel steps down as CDU leader
The shock decision signals the beginning of the end for a chancellor who put her stamp on Europe and beyond defending moderation and liberal values
Berlin — Germany’s Angela Merkel will quit as head of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and will not run for another term as chancellor, taking personal responsibility for the decline in support for the governing coalition. “The image presented by the government is unacceptable,” Merkel said at a press conference in Berlin, a day after her party suffered its latest setback in a regional election. “With this decision, I am trying to do my part to allow the federal government to function well again.” After nearly 13 years in power, 64-year-old Merkel’s authority has been severely tested since a disappointing result in last year’s federal election. It took her six months to piece together a coalition which has been riven by infighting and suffered losses in regional ballots in Bavaria and, on Sunday, Hesse. The shock decision signals the beginning of the end for a chancellor who put her stamp on Europe and beyond defending moderation and liberal values that have increasingly c...
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