Merkel to Leave CDU Leadership by December

Merkel addresses a Christian Democratic Union conference in 2017. (Pixabay)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on October 29 that she would step down from the leadership of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the ruling party in Germany, and that she would not seek any future public office after her term ends in 2021. Merkel has been the leader of the CDU since 2000 and Chancellor since 2005.

Merkel’s decision came after the results of two elections at the state level, one in Bavaria on October 14 and the other in Hesse on October 28, reflected dissatisfaction with her government among the German Electorate.

The governing coalition in Germany, known as the grand coalition, consists of the CDU, the Social Democrats (SPD), and the Christian Social Union (CSU), a local party in Bavaria that runs in the CDU’s stead as a sister party. According to the New York Times, the 2017 national election saw the worst electoral results for the three parties in the postwar period. Merkel nevertheless managed to form the current iteration of the grand coalition, which took office in March 2018.

Coalition members saw decreases in their vote shares in the recent state elections. According to the Washington Post, in Bavaria, the CSU polled 37 percent of the vote, down from 48 percent in the 2013 election. The SPD received 10 percent, down from 20.6 percent in 2013. BBC exit polls in Hesse had the CDU at 28 percent, down from 38.3 percent in 2013, and the SPD at 20 percent, down from 31 percent in 2013.

Merkel’s response to the 2015 immigration crisis made her the target of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which promotes a nationalist platform focused on stemming migration. However, her peers within the coalition have also pressured her on immigration, including the Interior Minister and CSU party chief Horst Seehöfer. Politico reported the AfD won 10.2 percent of vote share in Bavaria to secure representation in state parliament. After the elections in Hesse, where the AfD won 12 percent of the vote, the far-right party holds seats in all 16 state parliaments.

On the left wing, the decline of the SPD heightened uncertainty about the durability of Merkel’s coalition. Dwindling voter support prompted debate over whether the SPD should remain in the national coalition, with party leader Andrea Nahles declaring after Hesse that the SPD will “check whether this government is still the right place for us,” per the BBC.

Meanwhile, the Green Party has prospered, absorbing many SPD voters. In Bavaria, the Green Party surpassed the SPD to take second place with 17.5 percent. In Hesse, the Green Party came within half a percentage point of tying with the SPD.

With Merkel announcing her departure as party head, the CDU will hold a conference in Hamburg to elect a new executive board and leader in December. After that, Merkel plans to stay on as chancellor until 2021, although Politico noted that the loss of her party role makes her more vulnerable to attempts to oust her from the chancellorship before the end of her term.