BERLIN — The leader of a small party whose backing is crucial to the scandal-plagued Christian Democrats pledged support for newly elected party leader Angela Merkel in her efforts to rebuild a strong opposition to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
Bavarian governor Edmund Stoiber, leader of the Christian Social Union, assured a convention of Christian Democrats that his regional party would be "a stable and reliable partner" for Merkel, a native of East Germany and the first woman to head a major postwar German party.
Stoiber's backing is crucial to Merkel, who is trying to refurbish the image of the Christian Democrats, tainted by the slush fund scandal that has disgraced former Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
Though Merkel was confirmed by an overwhelming 96 percent of convention delegates Monday, concerns remained that her positions on immigration and abortion are too liberal — especially for Bavaria's ultraconservatives, who cooperate in parliament with the Christian Democrats.
"We will let no one divide us," Stoiber said.