thomas: jens spahn does not seem to be someone with top chances, but the race is very close. i don't think anyone would say for sure who they believe is going to get that post tomorrow. it seems it will be a close race between annegret kramp-karrenbauer and friedrich merz, and whoever does get that post will certainly have a big influence on the cdu in the next few years, whether it is remaining on the course in the center of the political spectrum , or whether it will be turning again back to the right of the political spectrum. somethingg that friedrich h merz could possibly do. this is a position that is very important for the cdu and german politics as a whole. it will influence the job that angela merkel has as chancellor in the remaining years before 2021. brent: our political correspondent, thomas sparrow, in berlin. thank you. here are some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world. in france, protesters have blocked access to hundreds of schools across the country and clashed with police in several cities. it is part of ongoing demonstrations ag

another candidate jens spahn the current health minister opposes chancellor miracles refugee policy. and takes a conservative stand on many issues. i want to see a germany that is modern and open minded and shows respect for traditional values homeland and family. because the city use new general secretary as policy not. a former leader of the cd ucs youth organization. will these new people at the top finally managed to resolve the deep divisions within the cd you. what do you mean former chancellor gerhard schroeder says the cd you made a mistake and they should have chosen friederich maps the corporate? lawyer. who was a major contender would you agree see when this? i would say the division in between the city -- is not a division and substances more division and personal like x.. there were parts of it that like fifty minutes more than a could come combo of but what is the real difference in substance i concede. that any one of these two would change the face of the party in substance they will still be a pro european polity you have to solve the refugee crisis and so on and so

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 today here is that we have a first vote, if there will be one candidate gaining the absolute majority in that first round, then we already have a result. but if not, there will be a second vote. results, final results most likely will be out around 5:00 cet. >> very big day for the cdu. and for people who have not been watching the intricacies of german politics, the bigger question for investors is what this ultimately means for the grand coalition. is there going to be a difference in behavior, whether we get akk there or merz there in terms of how they deal with their spd counterparts >> it's widely expected that the spd will not be happy with a grand coalition if merz is the marty leader having said that, there's also a counter argument two those thinking that the grand coalition would dissolve as soon as next year t