Beginning of end of Merkel era

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told leaders of her conservatives on Monday that she would not seek re-election as party chair, senior party sources said, heralding the end of a 13-year era in which she has dominated European politics.

Merkel, 64, has been chair of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) since 2000 and chancellor since 2005.

Party sources said Merkel wants to remain chancellor until 2021, when the next federal election is due.

The announcement, which effectively accelerates the process for the CDU to settle on and groom Merkel’s successor, caused the euro to fall briefly and German government bond yields rose.

Stepping down as CDU chair would further undermine Merkel’s authority, which has already been dented this year by two regional election setbacks and a close ally losing his role as leader of her conservatives’ parliamentary group.

Merkel has loomed large on the European stage since 2005, helping guide the EU through the eurozone crisis and opening Germany’s doors to misis: grants fleeing war in the Middle East in 2015 – a move that still divides the bloc and Germany.

“We are witnessing a continuation of the pattern in place ever since Merkel’s mistakes in the 2015 migration crithe gradual but steady erosion of her political power,” Carsten Nickel, managing director at Teneo, a consultancy, said.

“Rather than outright instability in Germany and Europe, it simply means a continuation of the current leadership vacuum,” he said.

Monday’s news came as a surprise to CDU party officials, who had expected Merkel to seek re-election as chair at a party congress in Hamburg in early December. The shock move started the race in the CDU to succeed Merkel.

It also raises questions about whether she can stagemanage a smooth exit.

Merkel is under pressure from her Social Democrat coalition partners to deliver more policy results and the centre-left party could yet pull out of the government at a mid-term review in 2019.

Germany’s other leader CDU chancellors – Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl – both had messy ends to their time in office.

Merkel standing down from the party chair would allow a new CDU chair to build a profile before the next national election.

Party sources said Merkel’s favoured successor, CDU party secretary-general Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, had announced her candidacy for the party chair.