Merkel heir apparent joins cabinet in risky bid for power

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s heir apparent yesterday joined her cabinet as defence minister, a high-profile job often called a poisoned chalice in Berlin’s fraught political landscape.

The surprise appointment of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer late Tuesday came just hours after the current head of the German military, Ursula von der Leyen, was elected as the first woman to lead the European Commission.