Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday overwhelmingly won the blessing of her conservative party for a hard-fought coalition deal, a relief for the veteran leader who has been weakened by party infighting over five months of political impasse in Germany. At a congress of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party she has led for nearly 18 years, delegates voted in favour of a government pact hammered out with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).
The strong approval from the CDU gives a boost to the chancellor, who suffered a major setback when the party recorded its worst score since the 1950s in September's general election. The congress was also about the party's future, with Merkel moving to quell a right-wing rebellion as she vowed to "set the party on course towards... renewal".
In a clear sign that attention had turned to the question of succession, the biggest applause of the day was also reserved for the conservatives' newly appointed general secretary, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Dubbed AKK or "mini-Merkel" by German media, the premier of Germany's tiny Saarland state was tapped by Merkel last week to take over as CDU general secretary, fuelling speculation the veteran chancellor is lining up her successor. A staunch Catholic who despite her centrist stance has also advocated a tougher line on migration, Kramp-Karrenbauer was seen as a wise choice to soothe internal discontent.
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