Taking the stage exactly 14 years after becoming German chancellor, Angela Merkel has told party faithful in Leipzig she had never imagined being in power for so long, but that the work isn’t done.
Merkel reminded her Christian Democratic Party convention Friday that since 2005 they’d brought unemployment to record lows and weathered the world financial crisis.
But she says with new challenges like digital transformation and the fight against climate change, the party needs to look to the future, while overcoming new pressures like Russian aggression and trade disputes with the U.S.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer the Federal Minister of Defense and CDU Federal Chairman of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union party (CDU), checks the staging before the CDU Federal Party Congress event in Leipzig, Germany, Thursday Nov. 21, 2019. The congress will be held from 22 to 23 November. (Kay Nietfeld dpa via AP)
Merkel says: “we need to find solutions for the world of tomorrow” and ensure that the CDU is the party of “Germany’s strong center.”
She says: “I want to continue to work for that as chancellor.”
CDU party chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer speaks during a Christian Democratic Union party convention in Leipzig, Germany, Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. (AP PhotoMarkus Schreiber)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a Christian Democratic Union party convention in Leipzig, Germany, Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. (AP PhotoMarkus Schreiber)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a Christian Democratic Union party convention in Leipzig, Germany, Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. (AP PhotoMarkus Schreiber)