akk wants to become germany's next prime minister.irst big test at the ballot box comes next month with elections to the european parliament. there is a lot at stake for her here. she has promised to turn her pa rty‘s fortunes around. her political credibility is riding on it. kramp—karrenbauer‘s passionate but very pragmatic vision for europe contrasts starkly with the appeal for a european renaissance launched by the french president emmanuel macron. translation: my vision for europe is a europe which is strong, which cooperates in the four columns, which can influence the rules of our noble world order. which can enforce its values, because i believe that oui’ its values, because i believe that our values are worth fighting for. but i want to clear up a misunderstanding. we had a very interesting survey in germany where people were asked if they want more europe and they said yes. and then they were asked what more europe means to them? and more europe, for many people here in germany, doesn't mean the creation of new european inst

annegret kramp—karrenbauer, otherwise known as akk, is the leader of germany's centre—right cdu partytipped to become the next chancellor of germany — the eu's biggest and most powerful country. now, if she pulls it off she will have very big boots to fill. angela merkel has dominated german politics for pretty much two decades now. so what can we expect from merkel‘s heir? translation: i was born in saarland in 1962. it's a small region in germany. it's a classic industrial region. there was a big mining pit close to my parents‘ house, which was then closed in the 1960s. my grandfather was a miner. my brother and my husband are miners. saarland has a special history, a european history. it was often contested between germany and france, and the region's nationality often changed. saarland is a very catholic federal state, the most catholic in germany, and this characterised myfamily upbringing. i come from a big family. i grew up with five siblings in a multi—generational household, and i had a distinctively happy childhood. i did in fact have a very close relationship with my father

now on bbc news, they call her akk. she could take charge of the nation when mrs merkel step—down.europe editor, katya adler. i've come to berlin to meet a female german politician who's had a meteoric rise to international recognition over just the last couple of years. annegret kramp—karrenbauer, otherwise known as akk, is the leader of germany's centre—right cdu party, and she is widely tipped to become the next chancellor of germany — the eu's biggest and most powerful country. now, if she pulls it off she will have very big boots to fill. angela merkel has dominated german politics for pretty much two decades now. so what can we expect from merkel‘s heir? translation: i was born in saarland in 1962. it's a small region in germany. it's a classic industrial region. there was a big mining pit close to my parents' house, which was then closed in the 1960s. my grandfather was a miner. my brother and my husband are miners. saarland has a special history, a european history. it was often contested between germany and france, in the region's nationality often changed. saarland is a v

akk has been working to shed her image as a merkel disciple.ousef: she is coming in after angela merkel who has been in office, her fourth term now. she has become the de facto leader of europe over the past couple of years. i think the people are concerned, can this woman from a small state actually lead germany the way angela merkel has. jason: tell us about where she does come from, not an area known to people outside of the country. >> she comes from a small state in germany, and it is an area that was not part of the republic until the mid-1950's when they had a referendum when the voters chose to come back from france. it is a tiny place. it is like delaware without washington being nearby. if delaware was where montana is, that is where it would be. jason: help us understand her as a politician on the political spectrum, which seems to be changing a bit, not unique to germany given the world we are living in. where does she need to fit in? >> what has happened of the past five to 10 years, merkel has moved the cdu, the right party that h

known almost universally as akk, she's the new head of the cdu party in germany — and could become then. translation: wien the eu have negotiated in way for a very long time stop the fact that we are so close to a no deal situation is down to the domestic situation in the uk. isn't it full hardy than to stay on the tough redlines in negotiation, such as the backstop of the guarantee to keep the irish border open. wouldn't it be more sensible to say yes, 0k, we will put an end date on the backstop. so far in the future that we doubt we will ever get to it. i have heard internally that germany may have been open to that germany may have been open to that idea but there was pushback from other member states, particularly ireland. translation: it was clear from the start that all eu countries wanted to work together, particularly listening to the point of view of ireland and the irish government. try and avoid no deal. if the uk came to us now and said let's spend five days negotiating non—stop on how to avoid a backstop, i can't imagine anyone in europe saying no. donald tusk is proposing

that puts akk in the pole position to become the next chancellor because the cdu is likely to prevailn the elections, and she is already elbowed her way to the lineup. central toaking is the economic strength, and that is troubling given the end of the combustion engine and the general decline in car ownership. andmw is preparing for electric future. >> bmw is undergoing changes like other carmakers. the biggest generational shift for carmakers. plan, we could replace the combustion engine at the heart of the car industry with battery electric vehicles. in bmw's case, they have no less than four engine plants around the world, one in china, one of the u.k., one in germany. what happened with its workers during this transition seems unclear. many of them will shift to new positions, and the shift will occur gradually. electric cars have not quite taken off in terms of people buying them. the way this will play out is unclear. in terms of this shift, the engine being replaced with the electric engine is what is driving carmaking strategies now. jason: take us inside bmw now as thispany,

jason: her name is akk.ol: she has been working to set her image as a angela merkel disciple. >> she is coming in after angela merkel who has been in office -- he is in her fourth term now and she has become the de facto leader of europe over the last couple years. that -- canoncerned this woman from this small states actually lead germany and the way merkel has? tell us about where she does come from because it is not an area of germany well-known outside the country. david: she comes from the state of the land which is the smallest state in germany. it is an area that was not part of the federal republic until the mid-50's when they had a referendum in with the voters chose to come back from france. it shuttled between germany and france of the past couple years. it is a tiny place. it is like delaware without washington nearby. it is delaware where montana is. us understand her as a politician on the political spectrum, especially because the spectrum feel like it is changing in german politics -- not uni

known almost universally as akk, she's the new head of the cdu party in germany — and could become the. translation: we the eu negotiated in afair translation: we the eu negotiated in a fair way. is it fair to stay on these lines, like keeping the irish backs up, would it be more fair to say ok, we will put an end date, we'll put it so finely future that we'll put it so finely future that we will not get that? i've heard that germany may have been open to that germany may have been open to that idea but there was a pushback from other member states, including ireland. translation: it was clear from the start that all eu countries wanted to work together, particularly listening to the point of view ireland and the irish government. to try to avoid a no deal. but if the uk now came to us and said spent five days negotiating nonstop on how to avoid the backs up, ican't nonstop on how to avoid the backs up, i can't imagine anyone in europe say no. if there are newer to take proposals for the border, i don't think anyone in the eu would say we don't want to talk about it. do you think it is