Germany: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer of CDU deals with a setback

The party chairman of Christian Democrats (CDU), Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer had to deal with a setback when the conservatives reportedly voted in favour of the members' ballot on who should be the next chancellor candidate on October 12. The final vote by the Judge Union can also force the Democrats to discuss the possibility of a similar kind of ballot in party congress meets in November. This would also cause hindrance in Angela Merkel's efforts to manage an orderly handover. 

Would be an embarrassment

For the candidate who won the party chair last December, such a debate would reportedly be an embarrassment for Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. This was also before a series of incidents that have decreased her popularity and also led to an escalation of questions regarding her credentials to eventually succeed Merkel. Tilman Kuban, the head of Judge Union also stated on Twitter that 61 per cent of the total 277 votes during a congress in the western city of Saarbruecken suggested that the majority was in favour of a ballot on who should lead Merkel's conservatives in the upcoming elections.

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Kramp-Karrenbauer's indiscretion

In the series of errors that people have noticed in Kramp-Karrenbauer's judgement included her making fun of transgender people in a reportedly light-hearted carnival speech. The CDU chair's statement has also fueled the questions about her political motives and descended her popularity ratings. Moreover, after an election in which both parties had to face defeat from far-right, the conservatives have now formed a coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats (SDP). The SDP, who is currently also under the pressure from leftists in the party to work and rebuild as an opposition, choose to end the coalition by the end of 2019, there is also a possibility of a snap election. However, the polls still show that conservatives will come first, with the Greens being the second-biggest party, followed by far-right Alternative for Germany and then SDP.

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(With inputs from agencies)