Merkel got starting help from Kohl (he just called her "Das Mädchen"), who made her environment minister. (A bad one IMO, one acting as the sweep-under-the-rug woman, with enough PR sense to for example come clean of the polluted nuclear waste container scandal.)

But, when about six years ago Kohl's party finance scandal broke, it was her who gained profile by publicly breaking with him. She tossed aside Kohl insiders (and Kohl's estranged onetime consigliere, who also broke with him over the party finance scandal, the now interior-minister-to-be Schäuble) Kohl again gave his support to her only years later.

But after Merkel first tossed the Kohl old-boys-network, the heavywheights in the CDU (not to mention the CSU with its own power aspirants) were not her followers, but the so-called "Anden-Pakt" (Andes Alliance). In the late seventies, on a plane to Pinochet's Chile, a group of CDU yuppies forged this alliance to help and never criticise each other, nor to run for the same post. Now members head at least three Länder - including Hessen, led by the worst of the worst in the CDU, Roland Koch (maybe you remember, I wrote a diary about him, and his hope of becoming CDU leader if the Grand Coalition fails to materialise). The US neocons like them, Koch in particular (who, unlike Merkel, was granted a visit to the White House - and that unscheduled).

Since Merkel is party leader, she battles the Anden-Pakt, lately with some old-boys-network support. The Anden-Pakt guys won a battle back in 2002 when Stoiber was made chancellor candidate in her stead, but Merkel trounced them during a coup attempt a year later. But they are not out at all.

As a final note, I dislike Merkel because I think she stands for nothing. Like Schröder, she is interested in power first, but unlike Schröder, she is less of a populist and big business appeaser ('Genosse der Bosse') than a 'power technologist', shaping her ideology based on what power groups she wants to build her power on.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

But reading and watching German media in the last few years seems to indicate that "personal" contacts and agreements in party politics are important.

Dodo described the history of Merkel pretty well.
She had Kohl as a "protector" in the 1990s but knew when to break the relationship with him.

That said, she still has the disadvantage of not growing up in Western Germany. And developing the contacts in a still very "West-Germany based" political party.
Simply put, she doesn´t have the "Hausmacht", loyal persons if you like, advancing with her through the ranks of the party.

Despite the election result, this is her only chance to grab the top job in Germany. :)
With "friendly fire" complaining about her bad election results.

I don´t know if I like her political ideas. Still I do have to admire her stubbornness (?) to try to compete for the top job in Germany.