Angela Merkel: As German chancellor prepares to step down, who could replace her?

Angela Merkel will not stand again in 2021

Angela Merkel has announced the end of her political career: she won’t be standing in the next federal elections, slated for 2021. She’ll be stepping down as leader of her party even earlier, too, in December.

Already, a crowded field is building up to replace her as CDU leader, a decision that will take place at the party’s congress in December. Whoever replaces her at the helm of Germany’s conservative party will inevitably also be favourite to become the next chancellor of Europe’s largest economy.

Here are some of the main runners and riders to replace her as chancellor in 2021, from her own party and outside it:

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer

(Getty (Getty)

Known to German political insiders as AKK, Kramp-Karrenbauer is the favourite to replace Merkel as leader of the CDU.

A moderate within the Christian democrats, she broadly shares her boss’s politics and is currently the party’s general secretary, having previously run the state of Saarland.

Merkel has specifically said she won’t endorse a candidate in the coming CDU leadership election, but if she had most observers would have expected it to be AKK.

Jens Spahn

(Reuters (Reuters)

Germany’s health minister has publicly spoken out against Merkel’s welcoming refugee policy, arguing that the CDU had “perhaps put too much emphasis on the humanitarian approach”.

An economic liberal who supports tax cuts and a smaller state, the minister has also proved a social liberal on some issues, such as same-sex marriage.

Friedrich Merz

(Reuters (Reuters)

Merz hasn’t been a member of the Bundestag since 2009, but that hasn’t stopped speculation that he might show an interest in coming back to replace Merkel.

A former leader of the CDU’s parliamentary group, Merz was Merkel’s rival in the earlier years of her premiership, but was ruthlessly sidelined as her power became unassailable.

To come back he would probably have to stand as an MP again in the 2021 elections.

Ralph Brinkhaus

(Reuters (Reuters)

The leader of the CDU group in the Bundestag, Brinkhaus inflicted a political wound on Merkel when he got his current job in September – ousting one of her allies.

The MP voted against the introduction of same-sex marriage last year, putting him firmly on the social conservative side of the party; he is also seen as a small-state liberal.

Andrea Nahles

(Reuters (Reuters)

The new leader of the centre-left SPD hasn’t managed to reverse her party’s slide yet, but there are still a few years to go before the next election.

Merkel is a fearsome opponent and if the CDU picks the wrong candidate, the SPD may well make a comeback. Or not

Alice Weidel

Alice Weidel shrugged and smiled when asked about Donald Trump's conduct at a German press conference (EPA)

Weidel was lead candidate for the far-right AfD in the 2017 elections. She’s unlikely to get near the top job because other parties refuse to deal with the AfD in coalition talks and they’re unlikely to win enough support to given alone.

It’s also unclear whether she will be in the candidate spot next time, given the AfD’s fractious internal politics. But given what’s happened with the extreme right other European countries, she’s worth keeping an eye on.