BERLIN (Reuters) - Armin Laschet is fast emerging as the frontrunner in the race to be the ruling Christian Democrats' (CDU) candidate for chancellor in Germany's federal election next year after Angela Merkel stands down, two dozen party sources say.
Laschet, the premier of Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, who presents himself as the Merkel continuity candidate, is slowly building a majority among the CDU's 1,001 voting delegates ahead of December's vote on the party leadership, the sources say.