The 52-year-old Markus Soeder was elected unopposed in Munich with more than 87 percent of the votes to lead the Christian Social Union. The CSU is the Bavaria-only sister party to Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, an independent-minded and sometimes-awkward ally despite the fact that they have a joint group in Germany’s national parliament. Soeder replaces 69-year-old Horst Seehofer, the CSU leader for the past decade and the most prominent domestic opponent of Merkel’s welcoming approach to refugees in 2015. Soeder already succeeded Seehofer, now Germany’s interior minister, as Bavarian governor last year. With Seehofer now replaced as head of the CSU, Merkel’s Cabinet now has no governing party leaders as ministers, including from the junior coalition Social Democratic Party.

Source: Washington Post January 19, 2019 11:48 UTC