Backgrounder: Germany's CDU set to choose Merkel's successor

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), speaks at the party conference of CDU in Hamburg, Germany, on Dec. 7, 2018. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union is holding its 31st plenary meeting on Friday and Saturday, when representatives will elect a new party chair to succeed Merkel. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)