Angela Merkel, from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), stated last Sunday that she will run for re-election in 2017. She has always emphasised that party chairmanship and chancellorship are supposed to be executed in a personal union. Thus, this announcement does not come as a surprise. But taking into consideration the recent federal state elections – with a CDU that lost a decent amount of percentage points in five federate states – winning while at the same time keeping the CDU on its conservative course seems like a daunting task.