Merkel to give up party leadership

German chancellor is preparing exit after voters punish her fragile coalition

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told her conservative party on Monday that she is prepared to step down as party leader, but will remain as chancellor following a pair of state election debacles, German media reported, in the clearest sign yet that the leader is preparing her eventual exit after voters again punished her fragile coalition in a regional poll.

Merkel, 64, had indicated that she planned to seek another two-year term as leader of her Christian Democratic Union at a December party congress, but appeared to be moving quickly to acknowledge pressure for renewal as her fourth-term government struggles to gain traction.