That means to desert the sinking ship.

Angela Merkel’s favorites have begun jumping overboard. After the CDU’s resounding election loss, and Angela Merkel’s lame duck hand no longer there to protect them, it’s time to say goodbye.

Two of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s closest political allies and most senior ministers will quit the German parliament to make way for a new generation that can rejuvenate her conservative party after its election defeat, they said.

The decision of Peter Altmaier, the economy minister, and Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, comes amid growing infighting within the conservative camp after Armin Laschet, another close Merkel ally, led it to defeat last month.

“The CDU must get itself in shape for the future. Peter Altmaier and I want to contribute to this by standing down from the Bundestag.”