Merkel to give up CDU chair

BERLIN, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday she will not run for chairman of her party, the Christian Democratic Party (CDU).

The move was considered unexpected since Merkel had always insisted the post of party leader and chancellor should be filled by the same person.

Merkel's statement came in a party meeting a day after the state election in Hesse, where the CDU suffered a severe setback by garnering only 27 percent of the vote, a sharp decline from the record of 38.3 percent five years ago.