Ines Claus emerges as CDU candidate for Steinmeier's successor, sparking Union dispute

Claus steps into the race

Ines Claus, who has led the CDU group in the Hessian state parliament since April 2020, has expressed interest in succeeding Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD). The 49-year-old, who has been a deputy federal chair of the CDU since 2026, told the Rheinische Post that being named in connection with the post was a great honour. She is married, a mother of three and Catholic, and she is a fully qualified lawyer, a point that CDU circles cited by the same paper consider an advantage in a possible political crisis after the next federal election.

“Now it is a matter of following an orderly procedure, with the minister-presidents, the leadership bodies of the CDU and CSU and, of course, our coalition partner.”

Reports of Merz backing and the CSU response

The Rheinische Post, citing high-ranking CDU circles, reports that Claus is Chancellor Friedrich Merz's favourite for the highest state office. Merz's entourage firmly denied this, saying he had neither committed himself nor put forward a proposal. The CSU wants Bavarian state parliament president Ilse Aigner in the post, and Markus Söder has repeatedly spoken out for her. According to reports, CSU politicians initially greeted the Claus idea with little enthusiasm and called it a trial balloon whose substance they did not want to assess. Several leading CDU politicians told the German Press Agency that the proposal was critical at best and absurd at worst, arguing that Claus lacks any federal profile and that her candidacy would fail.

Union divisions and SPD support for Aigner

Union parliamentary group leader Thorsten Frei declined to commit to Aigner as the Union's candidate. He pointed to several women within the CDU, including Bundestag president Julia Klöckner, education minister Karin Prien and former party chair Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. He told Welt TV that a lawyer does not necessarily have to be the next head of state.

“We have, thank God, several women who are very, very well suited for it.”

On the other side of the coalition, parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch has clearly backed Aigner, making him the first leading Social Democrat to do so. The SPD and the Greens have already voiced approval for Aigner, according to N-tv.

Timeline and next steps

The CDU leadership bodies will take up the succession question on 9 November, after which further talks with the CSU, the SPD and possibly the Greens are expected. A decision is expected within November, and the Federal Assembly is set to elect the new head of state on 30 January. Co-chair Bärbel Bas has resigned from the SPD leadership, and it remains open whether party chair Lars Klingbeil will stand again at the party congress early next year.