Merkel's shaking episodes fuel debate about German power handover

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bouts of shaking at public events are firing up a debate among some of her Christian Democrats about whether she should pass power to her protege sooner than a planned handover in 2021, senior party sources say.

Merkel, 64, suffered her third shaking episode in as many weeks on Wednesday at a ceremony to receive Finland’s prime minister. Breaking with protocol, the chancellor opted to sit rather than stand at a similar welcome for Denmark’s premier in Berlin on Thursday.

Merkel showed no sign of tremors at Thursday’s ceremony and smiled broadly. She later gave broad assurances about her health, while declining to give any details.

“I am aware of the responsibility of my office,” Merkel, asked about her health, told a news conference after meeting Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. “I behave appropriately as far as my health is concerned ... I look after my health.”

Although Merkel insisted “I am fine” on Wednesday, concern about her wellbeing is stoking discussion in the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) about when she should hand over power to her protege, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

Merkel, in office since 2005, has said she will not run again in elections at the end of this parliamentary term, due in 2021. In December she gave up the CDU chair to Kramp-Karrenbauer - a move widely seen as the beginning of a handover of power.

“The tremors are fuelling the CDU internal debate about whether the schedule agreed between Merkel and ... Kramp-Karrenbauer on not changing the guard until 2021 can hold,” one member of the CDU executive committee said.

The debate is being fanned by Kramp-Karrenbauer supporters who feel the CDU chair does not give her enough of a platform. Kramp-Karrenbauer, who has made a series of gaffes since taking up the CDU position, has seen her popularity slide in recent weeks.

“That’s not just because of the mistakes, but rather because the CDU chief doesn’t really have a stage,” said one CDU grandee.

However, sources in Merkel’s conservative camp said neither she nor Kramp-Karrenbauer wanted to change the schedule that would see Merkel serve as chancellor until 2021. If Merkel were to stand down early, that would likely prompt new elections.

The only real threat to a 2021 handover is the possibility that the CDU’s coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), could quit the alliance after autumn elections in three eastern states at which the SPD is set to suffer losses, the conservative sources said.

Merkel, who has no history of serious health issues, is also facing growing pressure to be more open about her ailment.

Her office has given no explanation for the shaking episodes and Merkel has given no details of any medical advice or treatment she has been given.