Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has postponed its extraordinary assembly, during which its new leader was supposed to be chosen to succeed Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, due to the coronavirus disease outbreak (COVID-19), German media reported Thursday
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th March, 2020) Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has postponed its extraordinary assembly, during which its new leader was supposed to be chosen to succeed Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, due to the coronavirus disease outbreak (COVID-19), German media reported Thursday.
According to the Bild daily, citing party circles, the congress scheduled to take place on April 25 in Berlin will be postponed indefinitely with an outlook to be rescheduled for sometime during the parliamentary summer recess from July-August.
In February, Kramp-Karrenbauer Chancellor Angela Merkel's hand-picked successor stepped down after scandalous elections in the central German state of Thuringia, in which the CDU unexpectedly decided to vote with the far-right Alternative for Germany party. Their votes violated a post-war agreement known as the cordon sanitaire pact where they pledged to not side with the far-right and practically brought about a red-green alliance that sent shock-waves across Germany.
With the party now all but set for a leadership race, which would also include the chance to vie for the chancellorship, the main candidates are Friedrich Merz, the former leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary bloc; Armin Laschet, the minister president of Germany's largest state of North Rhine-Westphalia; and Norbert Rottgen, the head of the Bundestag's foreign affairs committee.
