CDU Party Conference
Why Merkel Couldn't Congratulate Merz Again - Angela Merkel misses Friedrich Merz's CDU re-election after early exit
When Friedrich Merz's re-election as CDU leader was announced at 6:40 p.m. in Stuttgart's exhibition hall, the most prominent guest of honor was nowhere to be seen: Angela Merkel. What happened?
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) missed the announcement of party leader Friedrich Merz's re-election at the CDU conference in Stuttgart. Shortly after 6:00 p.m., the long-serving CDU chairwoman politely took her leave from Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his wife, Charlotte. According to the German Press Agency, the reason was simple—she did not want to miss the last direct train home. Merkel lives in Berlin.
Originally, Merkel had planned to stay in Stuttgart until the election result was announced. The vote was initially scheduled for 3:15 p.m. But then everything ran late. Scholz's speech alone began much later than planned, lasted over 70 minutes—far longer than expected—and when it came time to vote, ballots had to be cast on paper because the electronic system failed.
More than three hours behind schedule
As a result, the announcement of the outcome was delayed by more than three hours—and by then, Merkel had already left. This isn't the first time she has missed a key election result involving Merz. On May 6, she was in the Bundestag gallery for the chancellor's election. In the first round, Merz unexpectedly failed to secure enough votes, the session was adjourned, and Merkel did not return for the second round.
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