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The leader of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union pushed back against critics, saying conservatives attacking the party’s record under Merkel’s chancellorship are out of line.

“That’s not a successful election strategy,” CDU chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told party delegates at a meeting in Leipzig, Germany.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, who has come under internal pressure for her weak leadership, conceded that the CDU had had a “difficult year” electorally. AKK, as she’s known, urged party members to focus on substance rather than debates over personnel, such as who will be their candidate to replace Merkel as chancellor.

“We’re not going to allow ourselves to be written into ruin,” AKK said of the national debate over the CDU.

To contact the reporters on this story: Patrick Donahue in Leipzig, Germany at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net;Arne Delfs in Leipzig, Germany at adelfs@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net

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