BERLIN —German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she is ready to hand over the leadership of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) later this year, an unexpected decision that offered the clearest indication to date that her time at the helm of Europe’s largest economy is running out.

Merkel also said she will not run for office again and will retire from politics when her current term expires in 2021. But with political pressure on her growing and her government both unpopular and unstable, it was unclear whether she will be able to last even that long.

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