Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer gives a statement during a Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leadership meeting in Berlin, Germany July 1, 2018. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

BERLIN (Reuters) - The party secretary general of Germany’s Christian Democrats (CDU) wants to succeed Angela Merkel as party leader at a convention in December, party sources tsdold Reuters on Monday.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a close Merkel ally also known as AKK, told CDU members she was ready to run for the CDU chair position, the party sources said, adding that her announcement was met with ovations in the closed-door meeting.