Operation “Successor.” What Should Germany and Russia Expect from the New Leader of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany?

... cooling between the two countries For the first time in 18 years, the ruling party in Germany — the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) — has a new leader. On December 7, former Minister President of the Saarland and General Secretary of the CDU Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was elected the new leader at the party congress in Hamburg after Angela Merkel officially stepped down from the post. Kramp-Karrenbauer’s victory was to be expected to some degree, although it was by no means a given, as ...