Merkel's party opens convention to choose new leader

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel opened a party convention Friday that will see members choose a new leader of her center-right Christian Democrats, a decision that will help shape German voters' choice of her successor after 16 years in office.

Merkel, 66, has been looked on by many as a bedrock of stability at the helm of Europe's largest economy through multiple crises, most recently the coronavirus pandemic, but said two years ago she will not seek a fifth term as chancellor.

In an opening statement, Merkel said that since she was first elected chancellor in 2005 the world had “changed dramatically,” noting the rise of Chinese power and the ubiquity of smart phones. She rattled off a laundry-list of accomplishments including the reduction of unemployment to historic lows, the implementation of a minimum wage, a regularly balanced budget and a drastic increase in the use of renewable energy.

“We can all be proud,” she said.

In the online convention, members of the Christian Democratic Union are choosing Saturday between three men to take over as leader of the party, a role that Merkel gave up in 2018. That person will either run for chancellor in Germany's Sept. 26 election, or have a large say in who does.

Merkel's preferred candidate, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer who took over as party leader when Merkel herself stepped down, announced her resignation last February after failing to impose her authority on the party.

There is no clear front-runner among the three candidates: Friedrich Merz, a 65-year-old who is more conservative than Merkel and has been in the private sector for about a decade; Armin Laschet, the 59-year-old governor of North Rhine-Westphalia who is viewed as likely to continue Merkel's centrist approach; and Norbert Roettgen, 55,...