German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed Monday that she will not be running for a fifth term, and said her chancellorship will end in 2021.

During a press conference, Merkel told the Christian Democratic Union, her political party, that she would also not be running for re-election for chair of her party when elections are held in December.

"This term is my last as chancellor," Merkel said at the press conference. "I will not be seeking re-election as a CDU lawmaker. I will not be seeking any political posts after the current terms ends in 2021."

Merkel has been in power since 2005, and will remain in power until 2021, even without holding the position of head of CDU. Now a race for CDU leadership will ensue.

At the press conference, she warned that the “government has lost credibility.”

Merkel made her announcement shortly after a local election in Hesse, Germany, over the weekend, where voters skewed towards more leftist and right-wing political parties instead of CDU and its coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party.