Why Merkel’s party is backing a political lightweight to replace her

The run-up to the German federal elections in September was supposed to be dull and predictable. Merkel would name a successor and the German public would grudgingly vote for the chosen one as there was nowhere else to go. If this predictable drudge meant disaffecting voters further and losing another couple of percentage points here or there, so be it. The German conservatives would still come out as the strongest party and select its partners for a coalition, just as Merkel has done for the last four terms in office.

But things have changed. The gravity of Merkel’s own personality was what held many votes tied to a party that has been haemorrhaging support for a long time. After sixteen years of continuity, the dynamism in Merkel’s CDU has gone, they have run out of fresh ideas. The chancellor’s tight reign over her inner circle of power has made sure of that.