Merkel, 64, has been chairwoman of her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) since 2000 and chancellor since 2005. Merkel made the announcement a day after Sunday’s vote in the state of Hesse, at which the CDU came first but suffered a slump in support from the last election there in 2013. “I have the firm feeling that today the time has come to open a new chapter,” Merkel, looking serious but calm, told reporters in Berlin after a meeting of the CDU’s leadership.
