German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
The Associated Press
BERLIN (AP) - Prominent members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party are calling for an end to internal sniping after the latest in a string of poor election performances.
Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union finished third in an election Sunday in Thuringia, a state it once dominated. That result prompted criticism of both the chancellor and her successor as party leader, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Leading conservative and one-time Merkel rival Friedrich Merz assailed Merkel for her "inertia and lack of leadership."
Merz's intervention itself drew sharp criticism. By Thursday, a call criticizing "self-destructive" behavior by "individuals" and assailing "attacks (that) are politically mindless as well as excessive in tone and style" had gathered support from 28 party lawmakers.
The CDU will hold a regular party congress next month.
In this Friday, Dec. 7, 2018 file photo, Friedrich Merz, candidate for the party's chairmanship, delivers his speech during the party convention of the Christian Democratic Party CDU in Hamburg, Germany. Merz a one-time rival of German Chancellor Angela Merkel has assailed her leadership style, adding to tensions in her center-right party after a dismal state election performance in Thuringia on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. Friedrich Merz ran last year to succeed Merkel as leader of her Christian Democratic Union but was narrowly defeated by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2018 file photo, newly elected CDU chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, left, and Friedrich Merz, right, wave during the party convention of the Christian Democratic Party CDU in Hamburg, Germany. Friday, Dec. 7, 2018. Merz a one-time rival of German Chancellor Angela Merkel has assailed her leadership style, adding to tensions in her center-right party after a dismal state election performance in Thuringia on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. Friedrich Merz ran last year to succeed Merkel as leader of her Christian Democratic Union but was narrowly defeated by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, file)
The Associated Press