Germany's ruling CDU set to elect new leader

Berlin [Germany], January 16 : The ruling conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) will elect a new chairman on Saturday who they hope can succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor when she steps down after federal elections in September this year.
A digital conference of 1,001 delegates will elect the new leader of the ruling conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) this weekend (Saturday). The successful candidate will replace Chancellor Angela Merkel after elections this fall, reported DW News Agency.
CDU will elect a new chairman on Saturday and it will definitely be a man. Three candidates are vying to be elected as the next CDU chairman: former party whip Friedrich Merz, the state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, and Norbert Rottgen, head of the Bundestag's Foreign Affairs Committee. Each is hoping to replace the luckless Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer after her chequered interlude at the helm of the party, reported DW News Agency.
All the three candidates have a lot in common, they hail from North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), the most populous of Germany's 16 federal states. All see themselves as centrist politicians, firmly rooted in the middle ground of German politics.
They are all at pains to draw a line between themselves and both the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on the one side and the Left party on the other side of the political spectrum, reported DW News Agency.
In the many crises during her long term in office, she has been seen by many as solid as a rock -- be it during what was described as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression or the current coronavirus pandemic. Rarely has the cliche rung so true: whoever succeeds Frau Merkel will be stepping into some very big shoes, reported DW News Agency.