Ralph Brinkhaus beats Merkel's ally, Volker Kauder

Ralph Brinkhaus unexpectedly beat Volker Kauder, one of the closest allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a vote to head her conservative parliamentary group in Germany's Bundestag lower house of parliament, several party sources said.

Brinkhaus, who has been deputy leader of the Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) in the Bundestag, won with 125 votes versus 112 for Kauder, the people said on Tuesday.