Merkel party leader urges unity after German election loss

BERLIN (AP) — The leader of outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party has urged supporters to emulate the unity and discipline of their victorious opponents. Armin Laschet declared Saturday that the center-right Union bloc can only start winning again if its members learn to stand together. Laschet has indicated his readiness to step down as leader of the Christian Democratic Union, the larger of the bloc’s two parties. As the candidate for chancellor, he led the Union bloc to its worst-ever national election result last month. It came in second behind the Social Democratic Party. Laschet took full responsibility for the defeat at a youth congress on Saturday, but he also pointed to the Union’s cacophonous campaign behavior.