"We have had very successful years with Angela Merkel. She has led us for many years in government and that is the goal of a party," said Julia Kloeckner, a deputy party leader. All the same, Merkel, a physicist, was fighting back tears when she gave a final speech as party leader, drawing a nearly 10 minute standing ovation. She announced her decision to stand down as party leader in October. "When you have gone through as much as Angela Merkel and me, you are bound together.

Source: Irish Independent December 07, 2018 18:11 UTC