German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced she will give up leadership of her center-right Christian Democrat Union (CDU) party after 18 years in the post, German media has reported.
Merkel announced during a meeting
with officials that she will not seek to run for re-election at the party's
convention in December. But she made clear that she wanted to remain as
chancellor, a position she has held since 2005, CNN affiliate RTL reported,
citing party sources.
The announcement is a sign of
Merkel's weakened power within her own party, and waning popularity in the
country.
Both parties under Merkel's ruling
coalition -- the CDU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) -- suffered heavy
losses in a regional election over the weekend.
While the CDU remained the largest
party in the election, which was held in the central state of Hesse, results
were down 10% from the previous election.
This
weekend's election is a second blow to Markel's fragile "grand
coalition" government. On October 14, the Christian Social Union, or CSU
-- the Bavarian sister party to the CDU -- lost its majority in the Bavarian
state parliament.
Credit: CNN
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