Horst Seehofer, the longtime conservative rival of Angela Merkel, could be ready to stand down as leader of his party, as the woman believed to be the chancellor’s choice to be her successor called for a “new chapter” in German politics.
The chancellor begins her exit from politics when her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) next month elects a new leader, and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said it marked the “end of an era”. It was a statement that rang particularly true as sources close to Seehofer, head of the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU), told German media that he was also ready to stand down.
The CSU and CDU are sister parties but Seehofer, who is also interior minister, has frequently clashed with Merkel over migration. Seehofer was openly critical of her 2015 open-door policy and a row this summer over border controls almost led to the collapse of the the coalition government.
The weekly newspaper Die Zeit cited a number of sources saying that Seehofer would announce his resignation at a meeting of CSU leadership at the weekend.
The CSU leader had faced calls to step down after the party lost its majority in last month’s Bavarian regional election, a result that contributed to Merkel’s decision to stand down as party leader after poor results two weeks later in Hesse.
In a veiled criticism of the chancellor, the CDU general secretary, Kramp-Karrenbauer, speaking in public for the first time about running for the party leadership, said that “too often” political decisions had been made by the government that the party was then forced to accept.
“We live in a time of uncertainty, where fundamental questions are being asked and so this method doesn’t work any more,” she said, adding that processes needed to be reversed to enable the party to form positions that would then be filtered up to the government.
Kramp-Karrenbauer joins former parliamentary leader Friedrich Merz and the health minister, Jens Spahn, as the most-high profile candidates to replace Merkel following a vote due to take place at the CDU party conference in December.
Kramp-Karrenbauer, who follows a more centre-right line, said she would be making an offer to party members as to “how a new chapter should look in terms of content and style”.
After 18 years at the helm of the CDU, Merkel announced last week that she would not stand for re-election. However, she plans to remain chancellor, a position she has held since 2005, until the next elections in 2021.
