German Chancellor Angela Merkel has nominated Saarland State Premier Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to be the CDU’s next secretary general. She will take over from Peter Tauber, who is stepping down due to health reasons.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, premier of the small western German state of Saarland, was nominated on Monday to take over as secretary general of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU).
Kramp-Karrenbauer, one of Merkel’s closest allies, is respected in the CDU for helping the party win Saarland’s state election last year and played a key role in coalition talks between the conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD).
Announcing the decision at a press conference, Merkel said the party’s board accepted Kramp-Karrenbauer’s nomination with “strong support,” adding that the state premier could “play a stronger role on the national level.”
Kramp-Karrenbauer announced that by accepting the nomination, she would be stepping down as Saarland’s state premier.
“We’re experiencing one of the most difficult political phases in Germany’s (postwar) history. I believe that one shouldn’t only talk about responsibility in such times, but should also be prepared to be personally engaged,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a statement.
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