Merkel Won’t Seek New Term as Chancellor

Local Editor

Angela Merkel has said she will not seek re-election as Germany's chancellor as well as CDU's party chair. The decision comes after a debacle for her ruling party in the local elections in the federal state of Hesse.

On Sunday, Merkel's Christian Democratic Union [CDU] received 28 percent of the votes. Although that was more support than other competitors received, it was a significant drop from the 38.3 percent won by the party in the state's last election in 2013.

However, Merkel claimed that her decision not to run for party chair again was made before the plebiscite and even before German parliament’s summer recess. Party chair aside, the top politician also would not be available for another term as a chancellor.

This fourth term is my last as German chancellor. At the federal election in 2021, I will not stand again as chancellor candidate, nor as a candidate for the Bundestag, and...I won't seek any further political offices.

What's more, if snap elections need to take place before 2021, Merkel would not run for the top post either.

As the CDU experiences losses in support, the right-wing Alternative for Germany [AfD] party is seeing a rise in popularity. It received 12 percent of the votes in Hesse on Sunday, and now holds parliamentary seats in every single German state.

Merkel, 64, chaired the CDU party since 2000 and has served as Germany's chancellor since 2005.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team