<br /> German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed on Monday she would not seek re-election as chairwoman of her Christian Democratic Union in December, heralding the beginning of the end of her 13-year era of dominance in European politics.<br /><br />Merkel saying, “At the federal election in 2021, I will not stand again as chancellor candidate, nor as a candidate for the Bundestag, and ... I won’t seek any further political offices." <br />
