Germany: CDU appoints new leader in attempt to strike balance

Germany’s largest party, the CDU, has appointed a new leader after a year of deliberation in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Armin Laschet won 53% of the vote and will now hope to steer the party forward as it looks to progress past Merkel’s 18-year rule. With a leading role in the EU, Europe’s largest economy plays an important role as the relative ‘middle ground’ to increasingly polarised governments to its East and West.