German Chancellor Angela Merkel told her party Sunday she will seek re-election next year, a move likely to be welcomed in many capitals as a sign of stability following poll triumphs for Brexit and Donald Trump.

After months of feverish speculation, Merkel said at a meeting of her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) that she would run for a fourth term, party sources told AFP.

Merkel, 62, has governed Europe’s top economic power, which does not have term limits, since 2005. She is due to hold a news conference at 1800 GMT Sunday.

Another full four-year mandate, which pollsters say is likely, would tie the post-war record set by her mentor Helmut Kohl, who presided over the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.

With no clear successor in the CDU, her decision also comes as a relief to her party.

Merkel represents “stability and reliability in turbulent times because she holds society together and stands up to over-simplification” by populists, CDU deputy leader Julia Kloeckner told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

“She stands for moderation and centrism instead of cheap headlines.”

Source: AFP