Merkel makes "Mini-Merkel" CDU Secretary General, Sparks Talk of Succession
Mon Feb 19, 2018 03:58:pm World
4.7K By Sharon Ayomide
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has heeded calls from within her party for her to groom a successor. Merkel on Monday appointed close ally and confidante Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as secretary general of her Christian Democratic union (CDU).
Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer has long been known in the German media as the "Mini-Merkel" per this appointment is now saddled with the responsibility of the CDU and protecting the legacy of Merkel from conservatives hoping to drag her party to the right.
Merkel, who was also once CDU secretary general before becoming chancellor, said Kramp-Karrenbauer, who's the premier of Saarland, brings a lot of weight to the role in what she called "difficult times, uncertain times".
At a joint conference announcing her appointment, Merkel, said: "We have known each other a long time and can rely on each other, even if we have our own views."
When asked about Kramp-Karrenbauer as a possible successor to her, Merkel replied: "It is your privilege that you are always three laps ahead of others ... We have our hands full managing the business of the day."
Kramp-Karrenbauer will voted into her new role at a party congress on Feb. 26. She would take over from outgoing secretary general Peter Tauber, who is stepping down from the role after a period of illness.
By taking on the role of secretary general, Kramp-Karrenbauer's network in the CDU will be improved vastly. She said she will step down as Saarland premier and take up her new job in "one of the most difficult political phases in the history of the German federal republic so far."
Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer has long been known in the German media as the "Mini-Merkel" per this appointment is now saddled with the responsibility of the CDU and protecting the legacy of Merkel from conservatives hoping to drag her party to the right.
Merkel, who was also once CDU secretary general before becoming chancellor, said Kramp-Karrenbauer, who's the premier of Saarland, brings a lot of weight to the role in what she called "difficult times, uncertain times".
At a joint conference announcing her appointment, Merkel, said: "We have known each other a long time and can rely on each other, even if we have our own views."
When asked about Kramp-Karrenbauer as a possible successor to her, Merkel replied: "It is your privilege that you are always three laps ahead of others ... We have our hands full managing the business of the day."
Kramp-Karrenbauer will voted into her new role at a party congress on Feb. 26. She would take over from outgoing secretary general Peter Tauber, who is stepping down from the role after a period of illness.
By taking on the role of secretary general, Kramp-Karrenbauer's network in the CDU will be improved vastly. She said she will step down as Saarland premier and take up her new job in "one of the most difficult political phases in the history of the German federal republic so far."
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