German Chancellor Angela Merkel has no intention of calling a confidence vote, her spokesman said, after her party ousted a close ally as head of its parliamentary group.
Mrs Merkel’s conservative Union bloc voted out Volker Kauder as head of its parliamentary group, a key post for securing the passage of government legislation.
It was the latest wobble for Mrs Merkel’s fourth-term administration following two coalition crises since it took office in March.
The surprise defeat for Mr Kauder, who had held the job since Mrs Merkel became chancellor in 2005, was a blow to her authority in conservative ranks.
Opposition figures called on her to hold a confidence vote in parliament.
Asked whether she plans to do so, Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said the answer is “a clear no”.
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