(Bloomberg) -- Germany's ruling Christian Democrats expect their junior coalition partner to choose a new leader swiftly so as not to impact the country's governing coalition, party chief Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said on Sunday.
Her comments come after the head of the Social Democrats, Andrea Nahles, announced earlier in the day that she would step down as party chief and parliamentary caucus leader.
"I assume that the SPD will solve pending personnel issues quickly so that the grand coalition's ability of to act is not impaired," Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a brief statement in Berlin.
The government will continue its activities with all seriousness and responsibility, Chancellor Angela Merkel added later in the evening as she headed in to a two-day CDU leadership summit in Berlin.
"The problems we have to solve are on the table, at home in Germany, in Europe, and in the world," Merkel said in a characteristically short address. "In that spirit, we'll continue working."
To contact the reporter on this story: Arne Delfs in Berlin at adelfs@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Raymond Colitt
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