A year after Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer came from behind to seize the leadership of Germany’s Christian Democrats with a rousing speech at a party convention, she once again relied on her rhetorical talents to win over the room
To make matters worse, the Christian Democrats’ electoral slide continued after she took over, as the party lost substantial ground in a string of regional elections., a far cry from the 40 percent it received just a few years ago.
Nonetheless, as party leader, Kramp-Karrenbauer can’t escape some responsibility. She’s also made her share of missteps, from a gaffe aboutIn an effort to shore up her public image, Kramp-Karrenbauer, who previously insisted she intended to focus on running the party and didn’t want a ministerial portfolio, decided over the summer to take the position of defense minister vacated by incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Though Merz, a former senior CDU official whose political career was cut short by Merkel's ascent in the early 2000s, holds no formal party office, he retains strong backing among arch conservatives who believe Merkel has taken the party too far to the center, making it virtually indistinguishable from the Social Democrats on policy.
Kramp-Karrenbauer, whose centrist political views align closely with Merkel’s, has tried to bridge the divisions since she took over. She organized an open discussion earlier this year, for example, on the government’s handling of the refugee crisis in 2015, an effort to heal the wounds over Merkel’s migration policies, which many rank-and-file members opposed.
Indeed, the CDU’s success over the years — it has led the German government for longer than any other party — has rested on its broad appeal.
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