BERLIN: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the head of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat party, will succeed Ursula von der Leyen as German defence minister, a source within the party told Reuters on Tuesday (Jul 16).

Von der Leyen, who was confirmed on Tuesday by the European Parliament as the next head of the European Union's executive, steps down from her German role on Tuesday.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, a close Merkel ally who is widely seen as the long-serving chancellor's favoured candidate to succeed her, currently has no government role, which critics say would make it more difficult for her to transition to the chancellorship. </s> Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is elected new leader of Merkel's party

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is elected new leader of Merkel's party. </s> (HAMBURG, Germany) — Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has been elected as the new leader of Merkel’s center-right party.

Kramp-Karrenbauer narrowly defeated Friedrich Merz, a one-time Merkel rival, at a congress of the Christian Democratic Union in Hamburg on Friday. She won 517 votes to Merz’s 482 in a run-off. A third candidate, Health Minister Jens Spahn, was eliminated in a first round of voting.

The 56-year-old Kramp-Karrenbauer has been the CDU’s general secretary, in charge of day-to-day political strategy, since February. She was previously a popular governor of western Saarland state.

She now inherits the task of improving the CDU’s political fortunes and trying to win back voters from rivals to the right and left, while working with Merkel as chancellor until Germany’s next election. </s> BERLIN (Reuters) - Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and head of her Christian Democrat party, will succeed Ursula von der Leyen as defense minister, government spokesman Steffen Seibert told Reuters.

Von der Leyen, who was confirmed on Tuesday by the European Parliament as the next head of the European Union’s executive commission, steps down from her German role on Tuesday.

The choice of Kramp-Karrenbauer, a follower of Merkel’s centrist politics, came as a surprise to many in Berlin, where many had expected Jens Spahn, the arch-conservative health minister, to take the defense job.

But Kramp-Karrenbauer, widely seen as the long-serving chancellor’s favored candidate to succeed her, currently has no government role, a reason critics have given in the past to oppose her possible rise to the chancellorship. </s> HAMBURG (Reuters) - Germany’s Christian Democrats elected Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Friday to replace Angela Merkel as party leader, a decision that moves her into pole position to succeed Europe’s most influential leader as chancellor.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, is Merkel’s protege and was the continuity candidate favored by the party elite. She won the leadership with 517 votes out of 999 votes cast by delegates. Her rival, Friedrich Merz, won 482 votes in a run-off.

A former state premier in Saarland, where she led a three-way coalition, Kramp-Karrenbauer has a reputation for uniting support across the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and a talent for striking alliances with other parties.

Sometimes dubbed “mini Merkel”, Kramp-Karrenbauer is admired by the CDU upper echelons for her appeal across the party.

“I have read a lot about what I am and who I am: ‘mini’, a copy, simply ‘more of the same’. Dear delegates, I stand before you as I am and as life made me and I am proud of that,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a passionate speech to the congress.

Playing up her experience in regional government, she added to cheers and loud applause: “I learned what it is to lead - and above all learnt that leadership is more about being strong on the inside than being loud on the outside.”

Merkel said in October she would step down as party chief but remain chancellor, an effort to manage her exit after a series of setbacks since her divisive decision in 2015 to keep German borders open to refugees fleeing war in the Middle East.

There was jubilation as the result of the run-off was announced. A tearful Kramp-Karrenbauer thanked her rivals and invited them to share the stage with her in a show of party unity, which delegates applauded.

Earlier, an emotional Merkel bowed out as party leader, telling the congress: “It has been a great pleasure for me, it has been an honor.”

Kramp-Karrenbauer has differentiated herself from Merkel on social and foreign policy by voting in favor of quotas for women on corporate boards and taking a tougher line on Russia.

She told Reuters last week that Europe and the United States should consider blockading Russian ships over the Ukraine crisis.

But on what lies ahead for the CDU, Kramp-Karrenbauer said when campaigning: “I have no particular recipe.”

During the campaign, she took a more cautious stance on the future of Europe than Merz, who said Germany should “contribute more” to the European Union as it benefits from a euro common currency that is “too weak for our economy”.

Last month, Kramp-Karrenbauer told a business conference: “With every wish to take Europe forward with a German-French nucleus, the proposals must always fit with German interests.”

Party insiders say she gets on well with Merkel. “The chemistry is good,” said one senior CDU official. </s> Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was sworn in as Germany's new defense minister on Wednesday morning at a special session of the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag.

The ceremony itself had a makeshift air about it. German lawmakers were called in from their summer holidays to attend the ceremony, with some opposition members grumbling at the fact that attendance had been made obligatory (with non-attendees forced to pay a fine). Others also pointed out the cost of the extra session — estimated at €100,000 ($112,000).

The swearing-in took place in a provisional plenary hall rather than the main chamber, which is being renovated over the summer break.

In a speech, Kramp-Karrenbauer emphasized the special bond between the Bundestag and the German military, which requires parliamentary approval before any foreign mission.

The new minister has already called for an increase to the defense budget, a controversial demand for the junior partners of the government coalition, the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

The defense minister's seat was abruptly vacated last week, when the incumbent Ursula von der Leyen was elected as the new European Commission president by the European Parliament.

Kramp-Karrenbauer was a surprising choice for the post, given she has only recently been elected leader of Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and had repeatedly promised that she would concentrate on reinvigorating the party ahead of crucial regional elections in the fall.

In the meantime, though, the CDU leadership appears to have decided that the 56-year-old former state premier of Saarland did need federal government experience after all. With the CDU still polling as Germany's biggest party, Kramp-Karrenbauer is currently in pole position to succeed Merkel as chancellor. </s> HAMBURG (Reuters) - Germany’s Christian Democrats elected Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Friday to replace Angela Merkel as party leader, a decision that moves her into pole position to succeed Europe’s most influential leader as chancellor.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, is Merkel’s protege and was the continuity candidate favored by the party elite. She won the leadership with 517 votes out of 999 votes cast by delegates. Her rival, Friedrich Merz, won 482 votes in a run-off.

A former state premier in Saarland, where she led a three-way coalition, Kramp-Karrenbauer has a reputation for uniting support across the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and a talent for striking alliances with other parties.

Sometimes dubbed “mini Merkel”, Kramp-Karrenbauer is admired by the CDU upper echelons for her appeal across the party.

“I have read a lot about what I am and who I am: ‘mini’, a copy, simply ‘more of the same’. Dear delegates, I stand before you as I am and as life made me and I am proud of that,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a passionate speech to the congress.

Playing up her experience in regional government, she added to cheers and loud applause: “I learned what it is to lead - and above all learnt that leadership is more about being strong on the inside than being loud on the outside.”

Merkel said in October she would step down as party chief but remain chancellor, an effort to manage her exit after a series of setbacks since her divisive decision in 2015 to keep German borders open to refugees fleeing war in the Middle East.

During the leadership campaign, Merz delighted rank-and-file CDU members hungry for a more clearly defined party after 13 years of consensus-type leadership under Merkel by calling for tax cuts and a more robust approach to tackling the far right.

But the party delegates - many of them career politicians - preferred Kramp-Karrenbauer, often known by her initials, AKK.

“She is a safe bet: a centrist candidate who does not threaten nasty surprises,” said Josef Joffe, publisher-editor of weekly Die Zeit.

“Merz was just a bit too free-market, pro-American and pro-defense. Also, his pitch to the convention was wooden compared to AKK’s passionate appeal. Still, he forced her into a run-off, which suggests that AKK will preside over a divided party.”

There was jubilation as the result of the run-off was announced. A tearful Kramp-Karrenbauer thanked her rivals and invited them to share the stage with her in a show of party unity, which delegates applauded.

The Social Democrats (SPD), junior partner in Merkel’s ruling coalition, congratulated Kramp-Karrenbauer and offered to work constructively with her.

“You’ve got big shoes to fill,” SPD leader Andrea Nahles wrote on Twitter. “Good luck! Now it’s time to solve problems: shoring up the future of pensions, recognizing the value of work, strengthening cohesion in Europe. I offer good teamwork.”

The hardline Left party and the far-right Alternative for Germany lamented what they saw as the dawn of “Merkel 2.0”.

Merkel, 64, has presided over Europe’s most populous country and powerful economy for 13 years.

Earlier, an emotional Merkel bowed out as party leader, telling the congress: “It has been a great pleasure for me, it has been an honor.”

Kramp-Karrenbauer has differentiated herself from Merkel on social and foreign policy by voting in favor of quotas for women on corporate boards and taking a tougher line on Russia.

She told Reuters last week that Europe and the United States should consider blockading Russian ships over the Ukraine crisis.

She also took a more cautious stance on the future of Europe than Merz, who said Germany should “contribute more” to the European Union as it benefits from a euro common currency that is “too weak for our economy”.

But on what lies ahead for the CDU, Kramp-Karrenbauer said when campaigning: “I have no particular recipe.”

That practical, non-ideological approach is similar to the style Merkel has employed as chancellor. Party insiders say Kramp-Karrenbauer gets on well with Merkel. “The chemistry is good,” said one senior CDU official. </s> Germany’s ruling centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has backed Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as its new leader, choosing evolution over revolution after its most passionate leadership race in half a century.

After a long day of emotion and suspense, a shell-shocked Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer took to the party conference stage in Hamburg.

Wiping away tears, she promised to unite the party and restore trust in mainstream politics as Angela Merkel stood down after 18 years as CDU leader.

“I accept the election result and thank all for their trust,” she said after a tight leadership race that she said “gave us all a boost”.

Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer was elected with 517 out of 999 delegate votes in a runoff, after failing to secure a majority in the first round.

Her rival Friedrich Merz, a conservative-liberal former Merkel rival, attracted 482 votes and urged all to offer their “full support for our new leader”.

“The last weeks were a perfect lesson in democracy,” he said.

In a tacit acknowledgment of the tight vote – with just 35 votes separating them – Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer promised to work closely with Mr Merz and Jens Spahn, the federal health minister and third-place candidate.

In a passionate speech before the vote Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer challenged perceptions she was a continuity candidate or “mini” Merkel and promised “courage for change” to lead Germany out of its comfort zone.

“This Europe, this Germany, this world needs a strong CDU and that is what we are fighting for,” said Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer.

In a careful side-swipe at a chancellor criticised of tranquilising her party, Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer promised faster decision-making that heeded grassroots concerns.

“We need a strong party that debates and thinks,” she said. “We have 420,000 members, they know things, they want things. We just have to let them.”

The new CDU leader has promised to work closely with Dr Merkel until she stands down – by 2021 at the latest. Friday’s vote in Hamburg opens the door to the new CDU leader, known to all as AKK, as Germany’s next chancellor.

The 53-year-old said she was her own woman, with her own style, but knew the difficulties of combining work and family as a mother of three and political leader of 18 years.

“Leadership depends on inner strength, not volume,” she said, a dig at Mr Merz and acknowledgment her conciliatory style echoes Dr Merkel.

On her watch, she said, Germany would leave its comfort zone, and drive on European integration with a European security council and European army.

The new CDU leader faces a series of challenges: unite the party, drag support up from at 28 per cent, beat back a growing far-right challenge and salvage Berlin’s struggling grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party.

Earlier on Friday, after 6,815 days and a final, 10-minute standing ovation, a tearful Dr Merkel bowed out as leader.

Wearing her trademark awkward smile, Dr Merkel urged the party she has headed since April 2000 to “start a new chapter” and leave Hamburg “well-equipped, motivated and united”.

“I wasn’t born as a chancellor or party leader, truly . . . but I’m filled with a great feeling of thanks, it was a joy and an honour,” she said, her voice catching with emotion for a split second.

The outgoing leader delivered a humorous, thoughtful and self-critical speech. She acknowledged her own failings, in particular how staff and party colleagues were “driven demented” by her hesitation over decisions and her conflict aversion towards political rivals.

From climate change to globalised trade, her successor faced a long list of challenges. And, in a final riposte to her critics, she said she was “proud” of her controversial decision to keep German borders open three years ago to more than one million refugees and asylum seekers.

She mentioned Brexit in just seven words and delivered a double dig at US president Donald Trump. Two days after attending the funeral of George HW Bush, Dr Merkel thanked Bush for resisting triumphalism at the cold war’s end, and warned against abandoning the postwar multilateral order in favour of politics as “deals”.

As a farewell present the party gifted Dr Merkel a baton dedicated to “world politics’ most important conductor”.

Halfway through her ovation, a visibly relieved Dr Merkel urged delegates to sit down and get to work, saying: “We have a lot to do.” </s> Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was sworn in as Germany's new defense minister on Wednesday morning at a special session of the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag.

The ceremony itself had a makeshift air about it. German lawmakers were called in from their summer holidays to attend the ceremony, with some opposition members grumbling at the fact that attendance had been made obligatory (with non-attendees forced to pay a fine). Others also pointed out the cost of the extra session — estimated at €100,000 ($112,000).

The swearing-in took place in a provisional plenary hall rather than the main chamber, which is being renovated over the summer break.

In a speech, Kramp-Karrenbauer emphasized the special bond between the Bundestag and the German military, which requires parliamentary approval before any foreign mission.

The new minister also repeated her call for an increase to the defense budget, a controversial demand for some in the junior partners of the government coalition, the Social Democratic Party (SPD). But the US and other NATO partners have long demanded that Germany increase its budget to meet the alliance's target of spending 2% of GDP on defense.

"I am committed to the government's target of 2%, a target that all allies have repeatedly agreed to," Kramp-Karrenbauer said in her speech.

The defense minister's seat was abruptly vacated last week, when the incumbent Ursula von der Leyen was elected as the new European Commission president by the European Parliament.

Kramp-Karrenbauer was a surprising choice to take over, given she has only recently been elected leader of Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and had repeatedly promised that she would concentrate on reinvigorating the party ahead of crucial regional elections in the fall.

In the meantime, though, the CDU leadership appears to have decided that the 56-year-old former state premier of Saarland did need federal government experience after all. With the CDU still polling as Germany's biggest party, Kramp-Karrenbauer is currently in pole position to succeed Merkel as chancellor.

In the hour-long debate after Kramp-Karrenbauer's speech, opposition members lost no time in criticizing the CDU for allegedly using the defense ministry as a training ground for a chancellor-in-waiting.

"The CDU is the biggest threat to our security," said Rüdiger Lucassen, of the Alternative for Germany (AFD).
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer succeeds Angela Merkel as the new chairperson of the Christian Democratic Union, one of the major political parties in Germany.