(ANSA-AFP) - BERLIN, 26 OTT - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party said Monday it would push back a congress planned for early December to elect a new leader due to a surge in coronavirus infections. The conservative party's top brass will reexamine the situation in mid-December to determine its next steps, general secretary Paul Ziemiak said. The CDU was still hoping to be able to hold a congress on site at a later date rather than a video conference, he added.

"Going by the current situation, a congress with attendees on December 4 would not be allowed," said Ziemiak. The CDU was still hoping to hold an in-person congress at a later date rather than a video conference, but acknowledged that the online format might be the only option if the pandemic cannot be brought under control. Merkel protegee Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer took over as the leader of the Christian Democratic Union in 2018, after the veteran chancellor said she would not seek a new mandate at general elections next year.

(ANSA-AFP).