to reach them but nobody hansen's. the war on my phone or two part documentary starts december eighth on t w. this is due to be a news live from berlin the race to replace anglo-american is on merkel has led germany's conservative c.d.u. for eighteen years today the party elected a new leader there are three contenders buying to step into or shoot the bull by the powerful scramble speech and bring you all you need to know about who could become the next german chancellor.

i'm cindy so let's kind of good to have you with us until america was due to address her conservative city you party for the last time as party leader in a short time from now later delegates will be electing her successor michael plans to remain chancellor until the end of her term and twenty twenty one but whoever takes over the helm of the party chief will be ideally positioned to become chancellor some day and could even push merkel out of a job before her term and that the race for party leader is expected to be close with three main contenders the winner will be chosen by city representatives from all over the country over two thousand are included this is an important duty for the one thousand one delegates to set the tone for the future team that will lead the party who was months which is why i am looking forward to this and of course i am just as anxious as every. when else it is democracy in its purest form when

there is a range of candidates to choose from everything else will be decided by the delegates in time. all right a big day and however get the party conference our political correspondent simon young is there for us in a standing by simon this is really a critical moment for the conservative new leadership to be elected today what do you expect to happen. a real sense of occasion here at this cd your party conference in hamburg when angela merkel arrived at the speaker's podium just now there she received a five minute standing ovation even before she'd said a single word so that just shows you the people here are sending her a message of thanks for her service of eighteen years she's been in charge but now that era is coming to a close and people here know that they're choosing a leader who will quite possibly become the next chancellor of germany and

certainly lead the party in a new direction that is what people are saying is the focus today and people know that this is a moment a key moment for this important political party that's right so i mean it's the first time in eighteen years that they're going to select a new leader of the party what is the feeling among delegates today on what is an historic occasion. well it's only one of them because i've got a an important see do you figure here with me reading a cruiser he's a member of the german bund just talk from hamburg so you know his way around tell me what kind of leader do you think the christian democrats need now. need someone who was focused on the future not on the past that's my opinion and someone who can bring together other people. and a lot of people are saying that this boils down to a race between two candidates fried rich merits and and a great. karen bower very different figures how worried are you about the divisions

that may have emerged during this campaign we certainly do a three very good and i believe that yes the showdown will between. richard metz will be the one who gives the strongest profile. which reach the most people and people saying in the country at large that they want something different from angola machall and wouldn't that point t. have met soon as you say would give the party a stronger him each the biggest difference is that he is the man. and they could come carmo as not. two point zero she is. in and she. is really not some of us. and if it was

a legend from the past you think he's a man of the past and he has no chance in winning this most polls seem to put mrs bower as some water hates do you think max has any chance here until he certainly has a good chance. the people in german they all the youth vote for the christian democrats what elects. the guy can combo would be the winner but within the party it's an open race and just again what about this idea that the party is now more divided you've had a democratic exercise a campaign of several weeks we people setting out different stalls do you think the party will come together again as soon as the new leader is found yes certainly because. this competition was very fair and we do know we need all three of them and we want all three of them in positions in our party so of course that's a way that out. erection you would prefer but of course like

a lot of us for it is. ok rigger cruiser thank you very much for your time this morning sumi so you can hear the. voice from an important voice within the hamburg cd you. supporting stability i think for the c.d.u. going forward and saying that there are three good choices there on the table today for this time and we're also going to hear the chancellor speak likely within this hour what do you think we can expect to hear from her. i think she's going to look back as well as look forward because as i say she's been leader of her party for more than eighteen years they've been turbulent years we think back to the images when she took over the party from helmut kohl and of course it was a very different world than she was the first female leader of the first leader

from eastern germany somebody who mainly within the christian democrat party didn't really take all that seriously i think it's fair to say to start with she of course has become the towering figure in german politics and on a towering figure on the international stage in the intervening time and of course she won't disappear she intends to remain chancellor for the next three years we'll have to see whether that prophecy comes true because it partly depends on who is chosen to lead the party today but i think the chancellor will be slightly reveling in this occasion she's talked about this process to find a new leader as an example of pure democracy i wouldn't go quite that far of course it's been a controlled there have been eight regional conferences around the country with each of the three. main candidates and then maybe

a few more appearing even the small ng who think presenting themselves to party the party faithful and as i say setting out their particular idea not which he much policy detail mostly it's been about their general sort of philosophy and but she's called it democracy pure and i think angela merkel knows that for her things. are going to become a little more relaxed at least in the context of the christian democratic party directly and we've seen that reflected in our poll numbers which of which of bounce back up to levels that she hasn't had for a year or so just in the recent as a result of her saying that she's stepping back from the leadership of her policy all right well the hall is packed a lot of excitement there in hamburg simon young following all the latest for us there on the ground family will come back to you just a little bit. after we have our political correspondent you know has that with us here in studio and we're also of course watching this party conference here on the

right side of the screen we're going to listen in to chancellor merkel as soon as she takes the podium there but you know you know listening to what simon say maybe for an international audience who might not understand this process you have a party and then the chancellor and yet this is a very significant day a lot at stake what exactly is at stake it is important to understand the significance of the position as party chief in germany markel simon pointed out is intending to stay on as chancellor but she will pass over the position of parties to a successor and this is because she's beginning to realize that her political career is drawing to an end and that there is a strong desire within the c.d.u. to reinvent itself and see so that she is no longer the person to lead to posit because ultimately the party chief is the one who determines the course of the party and there are many people even within the party who have criticized her for assisting the cd the conservatives too much. to the middle and thereby opening up

the right wing to the right wing populist a party many people are saying we need to win those voters back other people are saying was done the exact right thing and modernize the c.d.u. it is now popular in urban areas and with young women for example so the party now will have to decide what to do with angle americans legacy which course it wants to take in the future and all the candidates who are up and running the main candidates they stand for different interpretations of what conservatism means these days so they will have to decide which way they want to take party you need in the lead up there are some you know eight regional conferences where you saw the candidates who simon mentioned were talking to said you delegates around the country there was a lot of excitement a lot of interest it seems like this is a change within this party that a lot of people were looking for it is a very open and democratic process and the c.d.u. is simply put not used to that and it's the first time that three candidates up and

running usually those procedures were dealt with behind closed doors and the general public and not even the seaview posse members of played to significant role in determining who their party leader was so this is a very open new system new democratic. process for for the party members and they are they are appreciating this they're also battling out the identification like i say that the idea of what conservatism is and he specially of course when it comes to dealing with uncle americans probably most controversial decision. keeping germany's open borders open in the autumn of two thousand and fifteen when the migrants came from the war zones and so the party will have to decide just how to how to deal with her legacy or we have been speaking to some politicians about how they feel about today's vote let's take a listen to that. i think on

a good come come both would be a great leader for a country who does what you deserve everybody needs to decide for themselves i will be among those who recommend voting for or against a particular candidate some avoid your fear but i'm looking forward to this party conference it will be the most exciting one ever we all curious to know who the delegates are going to vote for because. you know you know we heard earlier the delegates simon was speaking to say we need a candidate who is focused on the future and someone who can bring the party together has been so divisive in her time in office. that is a very important question that only the cd in memphis can k'naan so for themselves and i think that is particularly what's at stake here today that they need to find out just how do they see uncle mike and what she's done to the party and there are different interpretations of placemats as somebody who many people see as somebody who represents the good old days of the c.d.u. when it was by far the largest party and was always the one who would be

in charge of the chancellery here in germany of course germany's most important political post so this is something where. only the party members can can answer this question really how determined voters see all this because some just mention zero in this process angle of michael's seen her popularity numbers go back up i think many germans across the board and this is not just true for her own posse members appreciate angle americal for her for her style of how she has led not just this party but also how she has acted as a chancellor she's very pragmatic down to earth unpretentious politician who. doesn't really have great rhetorical skills but has a great ability to analyze and to analyze situations and then make decisions based on facts this is something that the german electorate has appreciate. that in the

past and now i think they were appreciative that she essentially said right understood the message we're losing voters and something needs to change and i'm going to play my part i'm going to step down as party chief and give others a chance to do well who exactly has a chance and we've been talking about what an important date is let's take a look at the candidates now the person who's been kind of picked as michael's heir apparent the person that she actually wants to follow or her as a successor as a c.d.u. party chair is and it could come cullen power we can calling her a k k because her name is so difficult to say we have a room for even for germans which i take comfort in knowing we have a report introducing her let's take a look. i make it come on by i shared a laugh with the german chancellor when i'm going to medical first propose her as the c. to use secretary general in february machall had forgotten that she herself was the first woman in the job the to see eye to eye on many issues sounding remarkably

similar of the hot button subject of migration. officials will make this stuff in those other shops and this will make this if we keep the christian see in our party name as a compass and take the deal for democratic seriously let's talk about issues again instead of looking for the lowest common denominator the to go back a long way in recent months and i've come calvin bar has been keen to shake off the title as many merkel stressing their differences like his skepticism over same sex marriage and her interest in reintroducing a conscription like service for young people she also used the latest tension between russia and ukraine to call for a tougher line against russian president vladimir putin in addition to sanctions. plus we have to ask the question how else we can make absolutely clear to him that the ends of sea must be kept open for international shipping. and if it comes

earned her leadership credentials as stated premier of germany's smallest state of starland there she proved only last year that she can win elections in difficult times for the c.d.u. grassroots experience that sets her apart from her competitors for the party leadership. you know we saw that she's earned the moniker many now she is someone who's seen as having very close ties to the chancellor does that help or hurt her. the question is no rating i mean again it comes down to just how the c.d.u. members the delegates here in hamburg how they interpret legacy and whether their style of doing politics is correct we have to remind ourselves that. really is not just rhetoric of a macro and it comes in the indifference she really does time for different policies. i guess the question is how different is she and how would she change the

country if she were the head of the party because we can't forget that she would also whoever is selected today would have a very good chance of being the future german chancellor i think it comes down really to the to the style of leadership that is very similar to a grammatical also sharing the refugee crisis the migration crisis in twenty fifteen. defended angle americans policies she didn't use that opportunity to position herself against america on the contrary she even won the election in tiny little state by saying no this was the right decision because we are a christian conservative country and we have values that go beyond party politics this is a humanitarian issue and this is why i'm glad michael's decision was right so in that way she is very very similar to ungrammatical and that's and then again having said that her position on for example the same sex marriage is is very very strong

and it is something that. she opposes it i'm going medical opposed it too but this is something where you have to look at how she defines being conservative and this is something yet that that will probably mean that the city you might move a bit more to the right more socially conservative socially conservative ok well if she's been defined for being closer to the chancellor the other front runner has been defined for his distance from the chances of being somewhat of a rival and that is true so let's introduce him as well. he's returned to the political front line with a bang no one had him in the frame but suddenly he's back. my name is friedrich met with an. met his heyday was at the beginning of the millennium as parliamentary leader for the conservative c.d.u. party he was known for his speeches his profile was that of an economic liberal.

he wanted to achieve more but failed to do so because of his party rival angle america. met withdrew from politics and went into the financial industry there as a lawyer he earned millions. after american to retreat immediately announced his return after a break of almost ten years. he is appealing to the cd news core supporters by promising to revive the conservative party and to bring an end to poor showings in the elections. i want to stop the trend i want to turn it back i'm sure that it's possible skeet. met says that he will take a tough stance on asylum and hopes it will see off the right wing populist alternative for germany party his foreign policy includes commitments to the e.u. and nato. machall old rival wants a fresh start for himself and for the c.d.u.

. we heard it there you know he was merkel's old rival some would say he's still a rival of the chancellor what chances do you see of him being selected today to succeed chancellor merkel as the head of the party some say the chances are very good some do say that his chances are very good because there is there is a yearning among some c.d.u. members to get back to the old days where the city clearly defined as a traditionally conservative party with traditionally conservative values let's not forget that. evan for example voted against penalizing rape in marriage so this is a very very strong conservative position and many people are saying that ungrammatical by shifting the c.d.u. to what's the center more and modernizing it in a sense making it attractive for an electorate and women for example she put their space up and that needs to be regained again and that like matt said that

the c.d.u. underestimated or actually neglected the the opportunity to ask itself questions about his own identity after the rise of the f.t. the right wing populist party and that that should be taken more seriously which of course means a much tougher stance on migration for example which also stands for in his case in particular near liberal economic policies and this is something that many people within this city you say has been lacking on the anglo american so he's a man who could bring the c.d.u. back the party back to its more traditional conservative roots can he work with the chancellor because let's not forget chancellor merkel said that she wants to stay on till the end of her term twenty twenty one he isn't an impulsive person who is somebody who is a great speaker when you see him on stage he's very extremely convincing but he does polarize a lot more than uncle michael does he does take things personally and he still some

people are saying and better he still hasn't forgiven uncle americal for what she did to him effectively ousting him effectively snatching away a post that he had and so he lost a hand he it is just not clear at this point in time just how resentful he really is and whether he wants revenge or not or whether he says she's actually good in the position that she's in because she's appreciated around the world as germany's chancellor and he's been very clear about one of his goals which is to cut the support for the far right. in half right exactly that is exactly the point i was trying to raise that he says we need to address those issues that a.s.d. voters want raised which is why the walls of control the sales say in the weeks leading up to this party conference about something that he said about asylum policies questioning essentially the individual right to asylum in germany and.

control to see and we'll see whether this strategy can altimetry be successful of trying to position yourself in areas where the a of d. is already successful all right let's remind our viewers who might just be joining us what we're actually talking about today the big day in hamburg the christian democrats the c.d.c. you a chance on party is selecting a new leader she has announced that she's giving up that post and she will continue on as chancellor until twenty twenty one if she can and there are three main candidates in the running for that that is taking place in hamburg right now and we have our correspondent simon young there he is standing by for us he's kind of keeping track of all the latest there on the ground if we can bring him in high five and give us an idea of what is happening there. what at the moment the party just going through various so orders of business of how they're going to conduct these leadership selection process and there's been

a lot of discussion in the last couple of days of whether there might be more candidates last minute candidates coming forward they would have to be proposed by . some of the greeks the organizations within the party sort of given an official backing for them to have any chance but of course all the focus is on these three front runners who have presented themselves to the party in the last few weeks many of them what one of them really known of course as figures within the party but. none of them i should say really from the front rank in the in the rich in recent years they've all been people who have been somehow relevant somehow important and particularly with a following among certain groups in the c.d.u. but. the there's a nervousness i think among some in the party here who don't know what is going to

happen today and that's the difference these party conventions of the cd even know me very managed affairs when it comes to choosing a new leader and a whole new leadership indeed today people don't know what's going to happen and it's much more exciting than it usually is and i mean you know yeah much much worse than even laughing at that mark i think you hear hillary is what about for chancellor merkel what does this mean for her as she said we're all focusing on the three main front right runners here but she is also going to give a speech what can we expect from her today. i mean i think of course that she will reflect on both the immediate situation and the process that's led to a cheese praised this democratic exercise as she sees it that she herself unleashed essentially by announcing that she wouldn't stand again for the leadership ordinarily she would have just stood at this party convention and no doubt been.

through as usual because the party wants to rally around its leader but she said no i'm not going to stand again i feel that recent poll results in regional elections have shown that you know my time is over the air america is over so she will be saying some of that i think but of course you'll also. be looking forward it will be interesting to see to what extent she shows her college she hasn't come out specifically to one of the candidates but it's pretty obvious. if she could she would choose and a great come. because and a great come from karen bauer is the woman that she herself brought forward gave her the job of party general secretary of this year and it's very clear that in policy terms that is the candidate she would like to see win so it'll be interesting to see whether she mentions that when she speaks but i suspect in the

interest of fairness of course she will she will take a step back and i think she's enjoying this day because for once the pressure's a little bit off her. time in a we we said there that it's pretty clear who chancellor merkel's favorite is but what about among the delegates who you've been speaking to is there an idea who the favorite is among these three front runners to take over as party chair have. no it really isn't a that's what makes it so so exciting. you can definitely say that there are groups we have these organizations within the party searches. people who are business representatives or the youth wing of course and many other groups who have tended to sort of band together and choose a candidate or at least hint where their sympathies lie and going by that you can

see that and a great current power does have a lot of support a lot of people think that she apart from anything else would be the best placed candidate to bring the party together and unite it after what some say has been a divisive process of choosing a new leader on the other hand friedrichs merits when he announced his candidacy after not having been really present in the cd used to remember of course but he was away following his business career for more than ten years he when he announced that he can. destry it really electrified the party and electrified the media interest in the c.d.u. and i think he's got a lot of supporters degree among business groups and among the youth wing many of them may be willing to say well you know we don't really mind so much if he's not the most popular figure in the country we want somebody who's really going to show

that the she did us got something special to offer and i'll take it in a new norm mayer kilian direction if i can use that phrase so it's hard to say walking around the whole which way things will go right some are going to leave it there because they feel that the chancellor has taken the stage let's see if we can listen to her now. to congress was one of the most difficult tasks. usually we decided on the party slogan at the very last minute which always made life very difficult for the staff in the country i'd add in our house particularly those responsible for the printing of the slogan banners i know we definitely made them desperate on regular occasions taking our time to choose a slogan which is why we have got the most modern back drop ever before. it's going to but i cannot thank you enough for all of the help that i've had not

just in choosing one party slogan for each party congress all over the years i'd like to thank you. if you know. my god and what you have done and had to do and been able to do in the party headquarters is something i experienced for twenty years first as transsexuals and i sit here and i experienced how good you are in charge me every day. thank. you. he's been climbing up on the line i am short tell him i'm quite sure. i would like to thank klaus shoeless well our treasurer who with only a brief break has also been in his job for over twenty years. thank you.