Germany’s ruling party is making a hash of choosing its next leader

EUROPE’S MOSTCDUCDUCDUCDU important election next year will take place in Germany. So will the runner-up. In the autumn of 2021 Germans will elect a new government, and Angela Merkel has promised that she will step down after 16 years as chancellor. Before that, though, Mrs Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union () must choose a new leader—and the winner of that vote will be in pole position to succeed her in the chancellery. The ’s internal election is therefore crucial for Germany, and beyond. And yet the party is making a monumental hash of it.The immediate cause is covid-19. The pandemic scuppered the ’s first attempt to elect its leader, in April. This week the party scrapped a second party congress, planned for December 4th. Despite a detailed health protocol, including buzzers that would have been triggered whenever those attending got too close to one another, it was considered impossible to organise a mass event just when the virus was rampant. Mrs Merkel has just announced sweeping new restrictions. The now plans either to hold an in-person event early next year, or to conduct a digital congress and ask delegates to vote by post, which will take weeks. (Absurdly, German law appears to rule out an online election.)