Germany’s CDU Backs Party Chairman as Governing Coalition’s Candidate for Chancellor
Voice of America
The executive committee of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party backed chairman Armin Laschet on Monday as candidate for the next leader.
Merkel is not seeking a fifth term, after leading Germany for 16 years. Laschet, 60, declared Sunday that he was prepared to run for chancellor in the national elections to be held in September. Markus Soeder, 54, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU) of Bavaria, the sister party in Merkel’s governing coalition, also expressed his willingness to run for the post Sunday but said he would settle the issue amicably with Laschet.
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