Michele Tantussi/Getty
- Angela Merkel told senior members of her Christian Democratic Union party that she will step down as party leader, multiple reports say.
- She will stay on as German Chancellor, the reports say.
- The CDU suffered numerous setbacks in regional elections.
Angela Merkel is stepping down as the leader of her political party, but will stay on as Germany's chancellor, multiple reports say.
She said she would not run as the Christian Democratic Union's (CDU) chair again at a closed party leadership meeting on Monday, Deutsche Welle and Bloomberg reported on Monday.
A new chair will be elected at the CDU's upcoming party conference in December, Deutsche Welle said.
Merkel's departure comes after a series of party losses in regional elections, most recently in the central German region of Hesse - a former CDU stronghold - on Sunday.
The CDU won about 28% of the vote there on Sunday, down from 38% five years ago.
Its loss increases the instability of the CDU's grand coalition with the Social Democrat (CSU) party, with whom the CDU rules in Berlin. The CSU also suffered a setback in Sunday's Hesse elections.
The country's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Sunday secured about 12% of the vote and will enter the region's assembly for the first time.
The nationalist, anti-same-sex marriage, and anti-euro party surged to third place in the country's national election last September.