BERLIN - Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union elects a new leader on Saturday who would be in the pole position to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor after she steps down following federal elections in September.
FILE PHOTO: The three candidates for the chairmanship of Germany's Christian Democratic Union party, from left to right, Friedrich Merz, Armin Laschet and Norbert Roettgen, pose at the end of a debate at party headquarters in Berlin, Germany, January 8, 2021. REUTERS/Christian Mang/Pool/File Photo The new CDU leader will be elected by 1,001 delegates at a digital congress. By tradition, the leader is usually - though not always - chancellor candidate for the CDU’s “Union” with its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union .
Following are details on the three CDU leadership contenders - Armin Laschet, Friedrich Merz and Norbert Roettgen - along with two other potential candidates to run as Union chancellor candidate: CSU leader Markus Soeder and the CDU’s Jens Spahn.The premier of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany’s most populous region, presents himself as the Merkel continuity candidate.