German leader Angela Merkel's party in crisis as successor quits

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Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel's designated successor unexpectedly threw in the towel on Monday, plunging her conservative party into deeper crisis as it struggles to agree on its future political direction after losing votes to the far right. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told leading members of the Christian Democratic Union that she won't be seeking the chancellorship in next year's election, upending Merkel's plans to hand her the reins after more than 15 years in power. Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said Germany's long-time leader stood by her decision not to run for a fifth term in 2021, despite the latest development.

Kramp-Karrenbauer's announcement reflects the growing split with the Christian Democrats exposed last week in its handling of the election of a governor in the state of Thuringia. The regional party lawmakers voted with the far-right Alternative for Germany party to oust the left-wing incumbent, ignoring advice from Berlin leadership.

The move broke what is widely regarded as a taboo in post-war German politics around cooperating with extremist parties. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is still Germany's defence minister. A shift to the right in Merkel's centre-right party could trigger a break with Merkel's junior coalition partners in Germany's federal government, the centre-left Social Democrats, and increase the chances the country will hold the next general election early.

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