Germany: Merkel's chosen successor to step down

ANKARA

German defense minister is giving up ambitions to be chancellor, a Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party official said Monday.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, also the party leader of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU, aims to give up conservative party leadership in summer, a party official told German news agency DPA, on condition of anonymity.

It is also reported that Merkel wanted Kramp-Karrenbauer to continue serving as the defense minister.

Kramp-Karrenbauer was widely expected to succeed Merkel when her term ends in 2021.

She was elected leader of the ruling CDU party in December 2018, after Merkel’s decision to step down from the post.