Editor's note: Ding Chun is director of the Center for European Studies and Jean Monnet Chair at Fudan University. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

On December 7, 2018, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Germany's ruling party, held a congress during which its secretary-general Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was voted to succeed German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the chairperson.

The CDU is the largest party in the German Bundestag and the new party chair has a great chance of becoming the country's future Chancellor. Karrenbauer may, therefore, have an important impact on European political structure in the future.

Compared with the other two relatively conservative candidates Friedrich Merz and Jens Spahn, the election of the woman known as Little Merkel ensured a smooth political transition to the post-Merkel era in the short term.

In October, after the CDU suffered a local election defeat, Merkel announced that she wouldn't run for the CDU leadership in December. Later, she indicated that she would not seek re-election after the end of her term in 2021.

The close relationship between Karrenbauer and Merkel has greatly increased the possibility of her working until the end of her term and the possibility of the grand coalition government formed by the CDU and the SPD continuing to rule the country. To some extent, this result also guarantees the continuity of German government policy.

Generally speaking, it is highly likely that Karrenbauer will continue to uphold the current left-leaning CDU policy under Merkel in the near future. 

However, in order to distance herself from Merkel, consolidate her position in the party, unite a divided CDU and win the hearts and minds of Germany, she will have to make some changes. Such changes are supposed to pave the way for the CDU's good performance at the general election and differentiate Karrenbauer from Merkel.

As a successor to Merkel, she is believed to maintain Merkel's relatively moderate and pragmatic policies, such as the minimum wage policy amongst other social policies. On EU-related issues, Karrenbauer, like Merkel, has expressed her preference for strengthening the Franco-German axis and promoting European integration, while mentioning the importance of safeguarding Germany's interests.

She says that all stakeholders hope to push Europe forward with Germany and France at the core, but these proposals must always be in the interest of Germany. Compared with Mertz who is willing to commit Germany to strengthen European integration and consolidating the Franco-German axis, she seems likely to follow Merkel's philosophy and put Germany's interests at the center of everything she will do.

Meanwhile, being tough on Russia, opposing same-sex marriage and banning Turkish politicians from making public appearances in Saarland all reflect the difference between Karrenbauer and Merkel.

On the issue of refugees, she has already indicated her support for strengthening refugee control through stricter border control between Germany and other EU countries. Such a policy is more responsive to public opinion than Merkel's current policy.

However, Karrenbauer will still face a series of challenges. First of all, she needs to properly handle her relationship with Merkel, and at the same time, devise a plan to bring together a CDU on the verge of falling apart, and build up her team and connections.

Then she needs to think about how to reform the CDU to win over voters and set the stage for her to become Chancellor. Lastly, she needs to win the next election and lead German voters to meet the challenges in Germany, the EU and the world.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com)