it will be angela merkel's last one. >> i am quite grateful. i was the party leader for over 18 years. that is a long time. >> merkel will be trading -- treading a fine line. her goal is to unite the party, achieving party unity and will be both the linchpin and litmus test for her successor. the chancellor has yet to make an endorsement. >> this is an important duty for the 1001 delegates, to set the tone for the future team that will lead the party. which is why i am looking forward to tomorrow. of course, i am just as anxious as everyone else. it is democracy in its purest form, where there is a range of candidates to choose from. everything else will be decided by the delegates. >> it will be a a tight race tomorrow, but for now, she can relax. >> today is say nicolas state. >> a chocolate -- >> today is saint nicholas day. >> a chocolate present for the chancellor. brent: for more on this, want to go to our political correspondent. today is the last full day of angela merkel being the head of the cdu after 18 years. this is the end of an er

the big question today is what does all this mean for angela merkel. t some point there could be a snooze transition of power between mrs merkel and new chancellor candidate. mrs merkel herself has said she would like to stay until the end of her time in 2021. today she really wished a huge amount of power to annegret kramp—karrenbauer. most people in this room still hope the chancellor —— that still hold the chancellor —— that still hold the catholic and very high esteem and very high affection to believe that it and very high affection to believe thatitis and very high affection to believe that it is likely she won't survive asa that it is likely she won't survive as a german catholic until the end of her time. studio: jenny hill. felix dane from the konrad adenauer foundation says it's unlikely we'll see drastic changes in policy under akk. there is a mere relief that this whole debating is coming to an end. we now how the new bishop will look like and we know who will be the leader of the barley and potentially even the next chancellor of germany. t

take a look at the career of one of europe's most powerful politicians — germany's chancellor angela merkel merkel‘s debut seems about as far from brave as can be, but that caution continues to be the essence of her approach. an antihero, using care and liberation, moving discretely on the political stage. avoiding show and high flowing rhetoric, perfect in many ways for a country where even the word leader cannot be pronounced without touching off dark, historical resonances. the leadership that some other countries want germany to have, the germans don't want it because they are dammed if they do, dammed if they don't. along with a self—consciousness about wielding power is a reluctance to speak its language, to articulate a system of ideas. her allies would argue that is unfair, but it confuses the absence of visionary political style with a lack of conviction. she is not so much impressed by ideological positions, but make no mistake about it, she is convinced by ideas. the merkel era, though, is coming to a close. she's given up the leadership of her party and many are sceptical that s

another contender is a former corporate lawyer, someone who never saw eye to eye with angela merkel. is keen to represent the people who did not approve of merkel's policies. those are the main contenders. the current health mininister, e youngest of the contenders. we will know early this afternoon what the cdu will have dedecided. anchor: w we will check iwith you when the vote gets underway in a few hours. thank you very much. next, a migrant rescue ship credited with saving thousands of lives in the mediterranean is to end all operations. doctors without borders saying a smear campaign by european governments is to blame. here,er spending weeks the aquarius, the last charity ship active off the libyan coast, is terminating operations. the end of aquarius means more says doctors without borders, blaming obstruction tactics by italy and other european governments for the decision. >> this is the result of a sustained campaign spearheaded by the entire government and backed by other european states to delegitimize, slander, and obstruct eight o organizations providing assistance to

don't think so, i don't think angela merkel despises someone or something, i don't think so. fficult to sit and look at us because a lot of these members of the party, she, angola merkel is the midwife of this party and these people could be part of us and we had mishandled the problem. people could be part of us and we had mishandled the problemm reminds her of herfailure, you say? exactly. exactly. it may too early to talk of epitaphs but it is equally clear that the merkel is is coming to an end. and with it, germany will lose a leader whose sensitivities were honed in the comet east. this grim complex was at secret police prison. thousands of political detainees walked these corridors between interrogation rooms and their cells. perhaps the strongest thing about growing up in the gdr left her with was that hatred of tyranny, a dislike of dictators, and an innate sympathy for people who had suffered under such regimes. if there is one defining thing about merkel, over the years, it is her commitment to freedom. and this became very strong over the past couple of years, comm

was getting on with however that may cause some problems because as angela merkel was giving her farewell address to the party conference she pointed out the current state of the party in the state of politics in germany means it's a very polarized and difficult situation that the woman known as a k.-k. is walking into. right it's a critical time for our country and for parties like ours the c.d.u. c.s.u. with the f.t. to the right of us and with the polarized societies one of the reasons that delegates may have decided that they wanted to go for only great crime karrenbauer is the fact that she does have this relationship with angela merkel who of course is going to be staying on as chancellor as she stepped down as leader of the c.d.u. but you'll remain in germany's top job until the end of her term she says twenty twenty one and that may well be the main reason that she beat her contender in the runoff vote because chancellor merkel and mr maritz they have history that goes way back to when angela merkel took over the party in the early two thousand she essentially ousted him

here in germany an era comes to a close today as chancellor angela merkel steps down as leader of her conservative c.d.u. party a party conference is getting underway in hamburg where delegates will elect merkel's replacement and possibly germany's next chancellor let's take a look back now at merkel's eighteen years at the helm of the christian democrats. merkel's announcement in october came as a surprise europe's longest serving elected leader is aiming for something no modern day chancellor has managed before her controlled exit from politics. acted so i won't run again as party leader at the next cd you party conference in hamburg. this is fourth term is my last as the chancellor of germany. merkel became the first woman at the top of the c.d.u. in the year two thousand surprise her mentor the determination and power instinct the party saw there was also what it would get over the next eighteen years. those who refused to accept that the c.d.u. was no longer gentlemen's club soon learned the hard way one by one her competitors had to go. after becoming chancellor two thousand and

summit on thursday but it really is quite hard to fathom what she expects to hear from angela merkel who has made it very clear that there is no room for negotiations on the brics a deal which was agreed back in november and of course it is also worth bearing in mind that matthew has made it clear time and time again that germany doesn't support the brics it deals but the main thing right now for germany is a breakfast it is going to go ahead is making sure that it is orderly and that is something that we keep hearing from german politicians time and time again of course they are do you also have germany's interests in mind as well and of course this could have huge economic and also social effects for germany especially if the u.k. leaves new you with the hardbacks it with no deal so good given all of what you're saying that the he was simply not budging on its position on nor renegotiation of the deal what can mccool really offer today is a man who is coming obviously with some kind of hope. well that really is a question and it really has a hard to understand right now because the

twenty leaders meet for talks on the final day of their summit in argentina german chancellor angela merkel hosts bludgeon you put in a working breakfast but with all of the leaders be able to agree on a communique. the forty first president of the united states george herbert walker bush has died at the age of ninety four he led the u.s. troop the end of the cold war tributes have been coming in from around the world not least from the men who have occupied the oval office. to money welcome to the program police and protesters have filed a field central paris with smoke and tear gas in the third weekend of clashes in and around the shows and is it demonstrates as from the yellow vest movements that cars on fire and used benches to build roadblocks police responded with gas and water cannon more than sixty people have reported to have been injured and the protests were prompted by fuel tax increases planned for next month but many are angry at other. reforms been carried out by president emmanuel mccall. let's go to paris now where lisa lewis is covering the protests for us only so we know

well it was close but in the end chancellor angela merkel's favorite candidate won on a great carabao will take over as leader of merkel's c.d.u. party after beating her top rivals in a party vote this now puts her in pole position to possibly become germany's next chancellor after merkel comes to an end. of the medical could barely hired her delight her preferred candidate come. is now the new cd new chief going to take contest she prevailed over her two rivals but is obviously keen to keep both firmly in her corner. these are all smaller and more slides are given me we must all work together to continue this momentum we all have the responsibility to shape and sustain this great people's party of the new and i would be very happy if both he and shannon to friedrich mertz would work with me to achieve it is sunday is our government that biden there were fears the contest which featured candidates with markedly different profiles could split the party but the defeated contenders urged unity. i would like to ask everyone now to give our new leader on the great crime our their wholehear

from german chancellor angela merkel and from the german government now bolin said yesterday that the request follow this very short notice visit came from the british side so while at the same time to reason they will be voicing the concerns of the u.k. house of commons today while she is in berlin she will also be putting out those feelers to see exactly what concessions she can take back to london now whether or not this will be a worthwhile trip is really the big question german chancellor angela merkel has said time and time again that germany regrets a decision made by the u.k. back in twenty sixteen and has said as well at the same time that negotiations over the brics it deal at least from the e.u. side of very much a joint venture and not down to individual states and others same time merkel did say after this deal was announced last month she did welcome the deal but at the same time if this was rejected by the u.k. parliament that there would be no question of more exit negotiations so when the u.k. parliament hasn't yet even been able to vote on this deal it's very unlikel

the prime minister due in berlin to meet angela merkel any time now.rby. the pm said the backstop is only one option, the transition period could be extended. why can‘t the transition period be extended indefinitely until the trade deal is done? that was a big concern on all sides, that this transition period would be extended indefinitely and the uk would be locked into a system where it was part in the market, pa rt where it was part in the market, part in the customs union arrangement and constrain its ability to do different things as an independent, sovereign state. what we see with the agreement on the table now, the expansion could happen once but it would be about july 2020, the uk government will have to notified the eu how long it would want the extension four. jacob rees mogg said it is a vassal state, the transition means you are bound by ewels regulations and we cannot sign trade deals, bound by eu rules but we don't have a seat at the table of the european union. thank you both answering those questions. thank you to all of you who sent t

or german chancellor angela merkel spoke more on this at a press conference a short time ago. we spoke about the situation in syria particularly around did lead and we also spoke about the situation in the sea of facts of because any escalation needs to be avoided there. we have suggested and this is been duly noted with approval that there be a meeting of representatives of the normandy group. that's being france germany ukraine and russia where they can discuss what is happening. i want to say very clearly the free movement of ships in the sea of us of to ukraine's coast and cities must be guarantee. violist. as being indeed up to correspondent max hoffman who is in buenos aires for us so max i just heard anglo-american there confirming that the recent russia ukraine escalation was discussed by the leaders do we know what the atmosphere of the talks was like. of course we know that this was a big part of the discussion between vladimir putin and i'm going to machall but the german chancellor was very matter of fact for you to her the important part was that what says what we

is ruling christian democratic union party has elected on a gret crime karrenbauer to replace angela merkel as the party leader carabao is merkel's protege and will lead the party in the next election amid a sad and support for the far right disagreements have marked the second day of talks aimed at ending the war in yemen the two sides are at all odds over reopening the airport and sana and who will manage the port of had data those are the headlines the news continues here with me after talk to al-jazeera. we understand the differences. and the similarities of cultures across the world so no matter how you take it al-jazeera will bring you the news and current events that matter to you al-jazeera. you can. see. i'm adrian brown in taipei pickup at all of taiwan but for the past sixty nine years has been self-governing but this place is also claimed by mainland china and in the past it has threatened repeatedly to take taiwan back by force if necessary they just had local elections here and the ruling party did very badly china it seems may well have been a factor i've been talking to jose

after a close leadership battle and a great crime carabao has taken over from german chancellor angela merkel as leader of the c.d.u. on her first day in charge of the party's getting behind its new latest supporting her promise nominee for an important post she's now a potential successor to replace merkel as chancellor. angela merkel could barely hired her delight her preferred candidate on a good crop cotton bowl or is now the new c do you change in a tight contest she prevailed over her to run. but is obviously keen to keep both firmly in her corner. all smooth and most neither can we must all work together to continue this momentum we all have the responsibility to shape and sustain this great people's party of the middle i would be very happy if both young shannon to friedrich mertz would work with me to achieve it is also government up biden there were fears the contest which featured candidates with markedly different profiles could split the party but the defeated contenders urged unity. i would like to ask everyone now to give our new leader on a great calm column by our their whole

german chancellor angela merkel is holding firm.o agreement with london on anything that could jeopardize the unity of the eu. that means no renegotiation. but according to angela merkel, efforts are being made to secure assurances for britain over the fate of the border with the republic of ireland and northern ireland. but the general consensus in berlin is -- >> there can be no allowance is, no other agreement than the one regarding have. >> there cannot be any cherry picking and there also cannot be frantic renegotiations because mrs. may seems not to be able to get the deal passed in the u.k. in the current form. reporter: but eu commission president jean-claude juncker did have one thing to offer. >> if used intelligently, there is room enough to give a clarification and further interpretation without opening the door. this will not have a. reporter: as may arrived in brussels, at least the car door was no longer proving so unyielding. but she knows that young claude juncker's offer may prove little back home. but you sounded

party has chosen and i guarantee crop current power as its new leader that's after chancellor angela merkel stepped down from the role after eighteen years artie's peter oliver reports now from. the new leader of germany's christian democratic union party will be and a great. the former prime minister of the state of silent she was going into this vote they're already the general secretary of the party she was given that role essentially the papal blessing if you will from angola merkel the outgoing leader of the party that she ruled over for eighteen years. current power was very much the continuity candidate she is expected to continue to a certain extent the work that angle of merkel was getting on with however that may cause some problems because as angela merkel was giving her farewell address to the party conference she pointed out the current state of the party in the state of politics in germany means it's a very polarized and difficult situation that the woman known as a k.-k. is walking into. the fight it's a critical time for our country and for parties like ours the c.d.u. c.s.u

angela merkel described 2018 in her new year's address. she wanted to press ahead for more solidarity in 2019. >> i am guided by the conviction that we will only master the challenges of our time if we hold together and work with others across boundaries and borders. >> 2018 saw in fighting that brought the coalition government to the brink. in october she announced she would not run for a fifth term in office. they are referring to the chalallenges of migration, clime change and terrorism. a star supporter of the eu and diplomacy. she won against isolation. >> what have been certainties of international cooperation are coming under pressure. we must stand up more for her convictions. we must argue and fight for them . in our own interest, you must assume more responsibility. >> german is joining for two years. she said that -- angela merkel says that she would fight for more solutions. she said germany would spend more on humanitarian aid and security. these were taken by a german astronaut during his time at the international space stati

angela merkel's long exit from olitics continues today.will be seen as germany's unofficial hancellor. matt, are we underestimating the impact that the next person head to the e.u. will have on the future path of europe? >> well, i think there could be a very strong impact because a.k.k. would probably continue to lead in the style of angela merkel which is very pro european union for example where the other would try to take votes back from the far right wing party in germany. that could part him from leaders in brussels. germany is one of the core countries of the e.u. it is incredibly important to the way brussels works. if you get more friction there, it could cause some real waves. tom: is this a generational shift for the conservative right party? >> it is not. merz is from the previous generation. 16 years ago he was pushed out of power by angela merkel. if he were to come back, he would try to bring the party back to the conservative route. if a.k.k. wins instead, it is more business as usual the third candidate is very young, seen

the end of the tunnel here at the chancellor in berlin germany's leader sure hope so chancellor angela merkel describes two thousand and eighteen and her new year's address as an extremely difficult year politically she vowed to look ahead pressing for more solidarity in two thousand and nineteen. that mystique about soil i am guided by the conviction that we will only muster the challenges of our time if we hold together and if we work with others across boundaries and borders. two thousand and eighteen saw the infighting that brought uncle america's coalition government to the brink in october she announced she would not run for a fifth term in office medical stressed in her speech the importance of shaping the future for generations to come referring to the challenges of migration climate change and terrorism a staunch supporter of the e.u. and diplomacy she warned against self isolation. and that's what have been certain scenes of international cooperation and now coming under pressure in such a situation we must stand up more for our convictions we must fight for them and in our own inte

background she was prime minister of a tiny federal state for many years and she was promoted by angela merkel to be the general secretary of the party so she didn't get the official endorsement of merkel but she's seen as more of a continuation of angela merkel's policy and not an abrupt change to what we had in all these past 18 years when angela merkel was heading up the cdu then we have friedrich merz, a bit of the polar opposite of akk. he's a confrontational businessman who was the former chief whip of the cdu many years ago. he was chased away by angela merkel as one of those ambitious men who didn't survive her now he made a surprise return to politics the moment she announced she's no longer running as the head of the party, he came out with a press release saying i'm running i'm interested i want to come back to german politics he's favored by the conservative circles. then we have an outside candidate, jens spahn. he's a well-known figure on the political scene, but he is not likely to make it to the end round of the vote. so these are the three main candidates what's happening toda

party leader that would mean he would then be working in tandem with angela merkel he's say he's being a good boy he's saying that he will. there will be no problem he won't be looking back to old grudges and feeding on those but there are many others who think that the two are completely incompatible there are business school of thought as i said that suggests that there will be a vote of no confidence in america in pretty short time that she may be replaced by . german chancellor. and then perhaps a snap election perhaps to tie in with the european election next year here in may you know anything could happen if it i think i do think for freakishness if he wins this vote and does become c do you possibly don't have the prospects for years. on the road to becoming german chancellor he might go on his best behavior he might decide to take a late apprenticeship with angela merkel who is a must a mistress of foreign policy of public policy in general and he could learn an awful lot from and he could bring the party together around that relationship that would be a huge human challenge fo

the big question today is what does this mean for angela merkel. r between mrs merkel and the new chancellor candidate, mrs merkel herself she would like to stay in the post of chancellor until the end of her term in 2021. today she relinquished a huge amount of power to annegret kramp—karrenbauer, as people in this room still hold the chancellor in very high esteem and very high in affection to, and believe it is likely she will not survive as german chancellor until the end of her time. a british yachtswoman has been rescued in the southern pacific, two days after her boat capsized, 2000 miles west of cape horn. susie goodall, who's 29, had been taking part in the golden globe race. andy moore has the story. safety at last. the cargo ship that rescued susie goodall used its crane to winch her on board. she's reported to be uninjured and in good spirits. it was an ordeal that began 50 hours earlier, when this distress call, in the teeth of a ferocious storm. her yacht had lost its mast and water had to be pumped out. in one of the remotest remotest

you see our experience was angela merkel it is she never will take a. not be sure that she will be packed as a new party chairman or a lady and by the party she's great in. getting compromises in harmonizing people therefore i'm quite sure it will work. but you know. you're saying this but then other news outlets are saying that there is some sort of confusion within their ruling party who do you think will gain out of the situation most a traditional social democrats or the more fringe forces like the right wing a. well. you see it depends who. who will become the new party chairman which lady. if you really that. this is. the new party chairman lady chel eighty. she. already. at the top of the party and. as the secretary general and she is a lady who will not correction the chancellor at all but if she does agree she will try to find a compromise therefore. not. avoid the power that you for mr maritz who will become the new party chairman while he's busy he's. trained in business and backed by the german business people he might try to push. more. mis

of the party its angela merkel's last hours lead a eighteen years she's been in charge of the c.d.u. she stepped down from that position today she remains as chancellor of course she says she'll stay on doing not job until twenty twenty one she gave a speech that was followed by ten minutes or so standing ovation they did not speak she said that the challenges facing the country right now were polarizing and that they needed strong will to tackle them at the heart. it's a critical time for our country and for parties like ours the c.d.u. c.s.u. with the f.t. to the right in fast and with a polarized society. well it was about the most of his speeches you ever tend to get from. could hear her voice go a few times when she was thanking people for the help that they'd given her over the years what she did say and this was a key point throughout the speech was the time now is for the christian democratic union as a party to put together a new program a new direction and fight the motto they say a party conference which mrs merkel kept going back to you is unite and lead together she said

interesting enough the same position angela merkel held before she went on to lead the party eighteen years ago now mrs merkel did give a very emotional speech in phone at the opening of the party conference in which she said whoever takes over from her is going to have a difficult task of pulling together and uniting a party and the nation in very polarizing times in the fight it's a critical time for our country and for parties like ours the c.d.u. c.s.u. with the f.t. to the right of us and with the polarized societies well certainly one of the reasons why you miss karrenbauer bay well of being voted in by those delegates is the relationship she has with angola merkel because although chancellor merkel has stepped down as leader of the c.d.u. she hasn't stepped down as chancellor and the two will have to work together very closely all the opposite side of that of course would have been if through to commit to get near him mrs merkel do have a history in fact it was chancellor merkel that essentially ousted him from the c.d.u. party leadership way back when when she rose to power bu

conservative party has a new leader and a great credit card balance of forces day as chancellor angela merkel she could wind up succeeding her mentor as head of the government what is the leadership change mean for exurban and the call to join us on quadriga. quadriga next on d w. what's that up they are high in the sky it's. good to see a mouthpiece michael we are still not a coffee shop. mary poppins is back after more than fifty years as charming as ever. more about the sequel to the movie classics appear on. the euro matrix in sixty minutes on d w. how do you. sustainable discover the dollhouse you talk about starts generally through. change hong t.w. . time for an upgrade. how about funding sure that grows on buying. a house with no roof. or design highlights you can make yourself. tips and tricks that will turn your home to a special. upgrade yourself with d w's interior design channel on you tube. hello and welcome to quadriga germany's conservative party has a new leader and a great trump current power she takes over the reins from chancellor angela merkel who was clearly rooting for

to remain in office certainly angela merkel says she feels she won the election the general election last year she has the right to the mandates to carry on to the end of her term which would be twenty twenty one if that can count on bowen's the received wisdom here in germany is that she'll be allowed to do that the two are very close and that it would be a very easy working relationship between the two of them however if friedrich mets were to win well it may be much more difficult much more choppy water as it were for them to pilot the ship of state through and america froze him out of politics he left politics altogether now he's back how likely is it that he would want her to remain in office that's the main question for him the main question for us now is who's going to win and we expect the results quite soon and depending on who on who wins this what if the case is going to have or how the christian democrats where they go from here and. and the effect on german politics as a whole. but in a sense winning this election might be the easiest election that these two candidates c

conservative party has a new leader on the great crime khandala approaching a day as chancellor angela merkel she could wind up succeeding her mentor as head of the government so what is the leadership change mean for germany and the result of joining us on quadriga. form. we may come home but we want tons of africa to and much of we ought to settle some of this and. want to shape the continent's future. are you enjoying african youngsters as they share their stories their dreams and their challenges. to seventy seven percent of the platform for africa charge. natural riches precious resources or something and a rewarding investment farmland that has been called the ethiopians during go into the country as an abundant supply and leases it to international editor from joining. the government for high ex-mormon revenues of the corporation such a high profit margin. but not everyone benefits from the booming business. the selling out of a country dead donkey know he knows starts december twenty ninth on t.w. . cut cut cut. cut cut cut. hello and welcome to quadriga germany's conservative party h

issue in the conflict between russia and ukraine it was top of the agenda for german chancellor angela merkel's one on one with russian president vladimir putin . she called on him to release the ukrainian failures detained by russia last weekend and said she wanted to avoid any further escalation. homuncular it took us off to stamford can we proposed and it is being considered to have a meeting in the normandy fall not in which the normandy counsels being france germany ukraine and russia spewed about the processes happening there isn't putin however said he believed only a change in the ukrainian government would bring an end to the crisis you used. one thing all twenty leaders disagree on the need to reform the trade organization given current trade tensions globally a success for this summit. and for more now i'm joined by our political scores on a thomas a sparrow thanks for being here a lot of one plus one meetings at this multilateral meeting at the big one being between of course donald trump and china's paying trump likes to announce deals is this one he had to announce theo's that's r

she has been a student of angela merkel.d wef angela merkel, have one for the last 13 years -- won the last 13 years. she will be pro europe, for example. on the other hand, the competitor being pushed out by angela merkel 16 years ago. since then, he has heard and served on a number of boards. most recently, the chairman in germany a blackrock. -- of blackrock. he has business experience. he wants to win back voters from the right. you could expect him to take a populist term, definitely more conservative. how will that affect his relationship with brussels? alix: thank you, matt. to recap the news. kelly will behn resigning in the coming days, according to people familiar, citing that he will be resigning within the coming days. who might succeed him? questions as to how long he will stay in the white house. he was previously the homeland security secretary before. we will be following that story as we break that. expected to resign in the coming days. president trump is actively discussing a replacement plan. nothing is f

general secretary by angela merkel in february she was widely seen as merkel's chosen successor she grew up in the west german state of saarland becoming an advisor to the c.d.u. there in one thousand nine hundred ninety after doing a masters in political science a capable political operator she took over as silent state premier in twenty eleven and led the party to victory in regional elections the following year a strong supporter of merkel's refugee policies she's seen as a liberal in economic terms but as a committed catholic is socially conservative dominant can bring us more now from humbug. after a close fought battle there is now a new leads a new leader to take on the mantle of angela merkel and it's the continuity candidates who will do so it's an exit from the process i'm going to machall seen by many as the person the bangle a man who wanted to take over the job from her let's be clear this was a very close contest previous melts came from nowhere he was the man who'd been frozen out of german politics sidelined as it were buying of america he came back in a blaze of publicit

attentions of the g twenty summit in argentina as the final day gets underway german chancellor angela merkel holds talks with vladimir putin the first of the leaders be able to agree on a communique. and caused a blaze in the streets of paris the riot police fire water cannon tear gas and thousands of protesters angry at rising fuel prices more than one hundred people have been arrested and we'll have the latest from the french capital. money welcome to the program former u.s. presidents george herbert walker bush the forty first president of the united states has died at the age of ninety four his one term in office so the collapse of the soviet union and the fall of the berlin wall bush sr will be remembered here in germany as one of the architects of reunification. as reaction continues to come in from around the world a stick a look back at his life and legacy. this was one of george bush's last public appearances and surely one of his toughest to make it was his wife barbara funeral an early twenty eight hundred. he did farewell to have after seventy three years of marriage. the couple

chancellor angela merkel describes two thousand and eighteen and her new year's address as an extremely difficult year politically she vowed to look ahead pressing for more solidarity in two thousand and nineteen. i am lead by my conviction that we will only overcome the challenges of our times if we stick together and work together across divisions. in vic to summon. two thousand and eighteen so in fighting that brought on america's coalition government to the brink in october she announced she would not run for a fifth term in office meco stressed in her speech the importance of shaping the future for generations to come referring to the challenges of migration climate change and terrorism a staunch supporter of the e.u. and diplomacy she warned against self isolation. and that's the foundations of global cooperation are being put to the test in such a situation we must stand up for must fight for what we believe in and for our own good we must take on more responsibility. on january first germany is joining the united nations security council for two years now called promised her cou

prevent thousands of premature deaths diesel fumes are alleged to cause each year now chancellor angela merkel has announced a boost for plans to improve quality in german cities. instead of one billion it'll be one point five billion and on top of that the government will provide another four hundred thirty two million euros for retrofitting smaller trucks. it's who for the knuckles government has been struggling to deal with the fallout from the auto industry's diesel gates emissions cheating scandal however a string of course imposed diesel bans for some in a cities has now prompted some swift responses like the new funding the bans have outraged diesel drivers so is throwing an extra billion euros at the diesel emissions problem enough guns was one of the financial subsidies for municipal vehicles and buses only impact about seven percent of the n o two emissions the majority of emissions are of course generated by cars. and no modern. city mayors and local authorities want car producers to be held more accountable to offer trade and bonuses for baez of new cars and to retrofit older vehic

germany's ruling christian democrat party is deciding on a new leader as chancellor angela merkel steps down from the role after eighteen years in charge voting has now gone to a second round after no candidate got an initial majority with more now from berlin his. uncle merkel has kicked off the christian democratic union party's conference a crucial war in the history of the party its angela merkel's last hours leading eighteen years she's been in charge of the c.d.u. she stepped down from that position today she remains the chancellor of course she says she'll stay on doing nut job until twenty twenty one she gave a speech that was followed by ten minutes or so standing ovation they did not speak she said that the challenges facing the country right now were polarizing and that they needed strong will to tackle the. hard. it's a critical time for our country and for parties like ours the c.d.u. c.s.u. with the f.t. to the right of us and with a polarized society. well it was about as a motive as speeches you ever tend to get from angola merkel you could hear her voice go a few times

that the chancellor angela merkel will have to listen to in the future. but for now it's safe to say that i'm going to mackerels gradual exit from politics first only stepping down as party leader could be something like a text book exit deciding herself when she leaves the political stage for so often now she's vowed to stay until her time ends in twenty twenty one but there is a lot of uncertainty ahead here in germany and in your. mechanic of not reporting their exit stage after anglo america what shape well germany take peter craven is here our chief political editor all right well the curtains have now closed for a chancellor angela merkel that was a very stage managed you know very well choreographed ever the taxation angle america's she got it just right just down to earth sea and now she's created this new and rather fascinating i think tongue them because it's pretty unprecedented they're going to have to work parallel to each other for anything up to three years it's. in duration that's a long time anything can happen in three years and it certa

they have the issue of the change of leadership, angela merkel, the leadership, angela merkel, the leaderfort people relied on, she is handing over to who, well, we don't know yet. that isa who, well, we don't know yet. that is a concern. and you have italy, italy with its just agreeing it budget. a perverse government of right and left—wingers, you wounltsd expect this. —— wouldn't expect this. there is this world made up quit—italy, would they quit the you re. well no. and you have the problems in france and that has led to concern. it is instability that the markets don't like. they don't like. economies don't like, you think with germany, the change of a leader some months ahead wouldn't have a huge effect on the economy. but its a matter of having confidence, that is the one word that runs an economy, if you don't have confidence, people don't spend, companies don't invest and people don't invest in britain if they don't invest in britain if they don't have confidence. whatever your views on brexit, it is the fact that we haven't made up our minds that is the worst thing and you have se

this is angela merkel's protege.going out but we are expecting her to go soon. her protege has won the leadership election, this places her in pole position to succeed merkel. she is a bit more socially conservative but crucially she backs the big controversy of merkel's late chancellorship which is v decision to let in lots of refugees, which has been controversial. she is going to have to put her mark on the party if the party is to do well in future elections as we have seen their power eroded. they have a problem, and it is that there is a kind of realignment of german politics taking place, as in every other western democracy, and you have the alternative to germany, the far right party on one side, at the unsung 70 —— but the unsung party it is the green side of politics, it has destroyed their version of the sdp, the economic liberal party, and angela merkel's party is being squeezed, they have a new leader, and they have this difficult decision of how do you fend off the afd without pandering to their ideas?

is not budging on its position no renegotiation off the deal given that what can chancellor angela merkel really offer the british prime minister. there really is very little that she can offer at the moment it seems that marco mangy just be offering it. to terrorism a but she is looking for these concessions but when it comes to this very controversial issue over the backstop for example merkel has made it clear time and time again that germany will do its utmost to make sure that there isn't a hard border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland and again merkel is pointed out time and time again that this decision lies with the remaining twenty seven and not with germany but already they smoothing there's been voices for him all close of corners of the german political scene here people calling the decision to cancel the parliamentary vote a decision made by to reason may as irresponsible and some even claiming that there is an appetite now in london for it to fall through exactly what tourism a manages to achieve this afternoon with angle america we'll just have to wait an