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Brexit: Angela Merkel's successor-in-waiting appeals to British public to think again and stay in EU

Angela Merkel's protégé Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who now leads the chancellor's CDU party, signed a joint letter calling on the UK to reconsider

Jon Stone
Europe Correspondent
Friday 18 January 2019 16:21 GMT
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How a second Brexit referendum might work

Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting has appealed to the British public to think again, ditch Brexit, and stay in the EU.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who replaced Angela Merkel as leader of the ruling CDU party in December, said in a joint letter that Germans valued Britain’s friendship as an ally in the union.

“Without your great nation, this continent would not be what it is today,” the letter, published in The Times newspaper, said.

“After the horrors of the Second World War, Britain did not give up on us. It has welcomed Germany back as a sovereign nation and a European power.”

Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer, or AKK as she is known, is not yet chancellor – with Ms Merkel remaining in the post for now.

The leader of the free world’s political protégé is, however, widely expected expected to take Ms Merkel’s place as candidate for chancellor at the next German federal elections.

She was joined in the joint letter by other German politicians, business figures, sportspeople and artists in a last-minute plea as the countdown to Brexit continues.

The UK is set to leave the bloc in 70 days if Article 50 it is not revoked or extended – though the prospects of a negotiated deal by that point look increasingly slim due to limited time and a deadlock in Westminster.

The signatories added: “We would miss the legendary British black humour and going to the pub after work hours to drink an ale. We would miss tea with milk and driving on the left-hand side of the road. And we would miss seeing the panto at Christmas.

“But more than anything else, we would miss the British people – our friends across the Channel.”

Other signatories to the letter included senior executives at German firms Daimler and Airbus, former German footballer and Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann and the punk rock musician Campino.

The open letter from Germany follows a similar missive from members of the European Parliament. Well over 100 MEPs from practically every member state signed a joint letter, first published by The Independent, asking the British public to reconsider their decision.

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