Merkel encourages women in her party to play larger role

German Chancellor Angela Merkel encouraged women to play a larger role in her Christian Democratic Union on Saturday, calling the need for more female members a "matter of survival" for the centre-right party.

Only with a higher proportion of women can the CDU truly represent the population, said Merkel at a 70th-anniversary celebration for the CDU's women's caucus.

Women currently make up 26 per cent of the CDU. The number of female CDU parliamentarians also fell in the current legislative period from a quarter to a fifth, which Merkel said was no "success story."

With 110,000 members, the Frauen Union caucus, founded on May 1, 1948, is the party's strongest caucus.