Germany's ruling Christian Democrat Union has chosen Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as its new party leader, ending Angela Merkel's 18-year reign. The CDU general secretary narrowly beat Friedrich Merz, a millionaire lawyer, in a run-off vote in Hamburg. Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer, or AKK as she is also known, received 517 of 999 votes.
The regional election in the German state of Hesse has delivered another political blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel with more voters fleeing to the left and right of the party. Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and her coalition partner in Berlin, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), saw heavy losses in the state of Hesse where a regional election was held on Sunday.
Germany's junior partner in the ruling coalition, the Social Democrats (SPD), has elected its first female leader in the party's 154-year history. Former Labour Minister Andrea Nahles was chosen to replace Martin Schulz, who resigned after the SPD's worst result since 1933 in last year's polls.