Germany looks for successor as CDU party chief

BERLIN - A knife-edge vote on Friday will determine Angela Merkel's successor as head of her party after 18 years at the helm, with the German chancellor's own political fate and legacy on the line.

Merkel, the European Union's most powerful leader, stunned observers in October with the announcement following a state election setback that she would not stand again as head of her Christian Democrats (or CDU).

After years of turmoil within the party and the electorate over her disputed decision to keep the border open to more than 1 million asylum-seekers, Merkel has said she will leave politics when her term ends in 2021.