German Chancellor, Angela Merkel will hands off the leadership of her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Friday after nearly two decades at the helm.

The race to determine who succeeds the 64-year old chancellor  is wide open between a loyal deputy and a longtime rival. The contest’s outcome is expected to be crucial in deciding whether Merkel, Europe’s most influential leader can realize her ambition of completing her fourth term in 2021 before quitting politics.

Merkel, who has led Germany since 1995 is quitting the helm of the CDU after a series of setbacks in the polls, deeply rooted in the controversy surrounding her liberal refugee policy.

“I’m very grateful that I could be party chairwoman for 18 years — it is a very, very long time and the CDU of course had its ups and downs. But we won four national elections together and I am happy I can remain chancellor,” Merkel said.

The two main candidates, CDU deputy leader, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and corporate lawyer, Friedrich Merz are locked in a battle over whether to embrace or break away from Merkel’s legacy.

 

A third contender and the country’s health minister, 38-year-old Jens Spahn who has been an outspoken critic of Merkel’s 2015 decision to welcome more than a million asylum seekers to Germany is seen as being in a distant third place.

While the 56-year-old Kramp-Karrenbauer is viewed as a keeper of the ‘Merkel flame’, Merz, 63, has become the torchbearer for those seeking a more decisive break with the Chancellor.