Christian Democratic Union of Germany leadership election

Most Germans do not want Christian Democrat (CDU) leader Armin Laschet to try to form a government after his conservative bloc suffered huge losses in parliamentary elections, recent  public opinion polls indicated on Tuesday, as dpa reported.

Germans voted on Sept. 26 in one of the most unpredictable elections in its recent history, with Angela Merkel's conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats in a tight race for her crown as she prepares to leave the political stage.

The epochal election ushers in the end of 16 years in power for Merkel and places Germany, a byword for stability, in a new period of uncertainty.

Angela Merkel's conservatives were heaving a sigh of relief on June 7 after a convincing win in the last regional vote before a general election that also exposed the weaknesses of the Green party, their main rival at the national level.

The leadership of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has backed its head Armin Laschet as the conservative bloc's candidate for chancellor in the upcoming German federal elections, dpa reported.

Armin Laschet, leader of Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU), won the backing of senior party members at an internal meeting to run as the conservative candidate to succeed Angela Merkel at a September federal election, party sources said on April 20.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Jan. 30 congratulated the new leader of Germany's ruling party.

In a phone call, Erdoğan said he believed Armin Laschet, head of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), will continue Germany's positive relations with Turkey, according to a statement from Turkey's Communications Directorate.

With three candidates vying on Friday and Saturday to take over the leadership of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) and succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor, Greece is weighing who could best serve its interest - Armin Laschet, premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, Norbert Rottgen, chairman of the Bundestag's foreign affairs committee, and Friedrich Merz, a corporate lawyer and former MP.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right party has elected Armin Laschet, the pragmatic governor of Germany's most populous state, as its new leader- sending a signal of continuity months before an election in which voters will decide who becomes the new chancellor.

There are five candidates in the race, points out Austrian daily "Standard".
The paper reminds that the CDU assembly had to be postponed twice because of the coronavirus, and it is now scheduled for January 16, when a new party leader should be elected, and the meeting with 1.001 delegates will be digital.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's heir apparent shook up German politics on Feb. 10 by declaring she would step down as the governing party's leader and not run for chancellor, fueling uncertainty in the country seen as Europe's anchor of stability amid Brexit and pressure from the far right.