Merkel’s protege fails to garner support

Bloomberg

Five months after Angela Merkel handed over the reins as her party’s leader, the transition to her chosen successor as German chancellor is shrouded in uncertainty, and with it the
direction of Europe’s largest economy.
As Merkel’s Christian Democratic-led bloc languishes at or under 30 percent ahead of the May 26 European election, her protege Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer — known as AKK — has struggled to fit into her role as party chairwoman, according to three people familiar with the party’s internal discussions.
Fumbled overtures to the party’s right flank, a contested lineup on the campaign trail and the scheduling of an extraordinary leadership meeting for early June have laid bare party tensions — and prompted a flurry of speculation, including over Merkel’s resignation.
While the chancellor was quick to rebuff the idea, the likelihood of a prolonged period of uncertainty in German politics has grown. Europe’s engine flirted with recession at the end of last year and a lack of direction from the top could dent confidence as Germany starts to rebound from that slowdown.
“It looks like we will witness a state of political infirmity in Germany in the next two years,” Ulrich Sarcinelli, a political scientist at the University of Koblenz-Landau, said in an interview. “AKK cannot simply take over from Merkel.”
Merkel shook up Germany’s political landscape last year by ceding the party leadership — and appeared to score a victory after Kramp-Karrenbauer beat out a conservative rival. But since the transfer of power has failed to buoy the CDU, a limbo of sorts has emerged, in which the sitting chancellor has seen her authority diminished while her hamstrung successor is struggling to rally support.
The deadlock involves pitfalls for Kramp-Karrenbauer. An extended period as chancellor-in-waiting could take a toll on her momentum as a fresh political force.