Kramp-Karrenbauer, widely known by her initials "AKK", has endured a rockyfirst year at the helm since taking over the party leadership from Merkel at last year's conference. CDU MP Axel Fischer, meanwhile, told Main Post newspaper that there was "adesire for new heads" among the party membership. 'Too early'One such new head could be 64-year-old lawyer Friedrich Merz, who narrowly lost out to Kramp-Karrenbauer in last year's leadership vote. Ahead of the conference, six motions have been put forward on the introduction of a members' vote or internal primaries. Yet the CDU leader insisted on Thursday that she was looking forward to the party conference in Leipzig.

Source: The Local November 22, 2019 08:48 UTC