Söder renews the push for Aigner

On Friday, 23 October, CSU chairman Markus Söder again argued at the party congress in Munich that Ilse Aigner, the Bavarian state parliament president, should become the next Federal President, and the delegates answered with loud applause. Söder said the decision would be made elsewhere, adding:

“That would be a great thing.”

Aigner accepted the applause with a smile and did not say whether she would stand. Söder had first raised her for the post at the end of April, and within the CSU she has long been regarded as a possible candidate.

Merz names Aigner in his speech

On Saturday, 24 October, Chancellor Friedrich Merz opened his speech to the congress by thanking Söder and then greeting Aigner by name, placing her before European People's Party chief Manfred Weber in his sequence of greetings. The 700 delegates rose and applauded, and the ovation including standing applause lasted for minutes. Aigner, seated in the front row, stood up as well and waved with both hands into the Messehalle. Merz had already greeted Aigner and Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär with a kiss on each cheek when he entered the hall. Only after the applause ended could he continue, and his speech had been awaited with suspense because he had not yet publicly commented on the presidential question.

Weber and Holetschek want a quick decision

CSU parliamentary group leader Klaus Holetschek told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that the time had come to decide, and he praised the broad support Aigner enjoys in Bavaria, in other parties and beyond. He described her as an outstanding candidate who stays close to people, saying he saw her as the best option for a candidate who is near to the public.

“The window has come to reach a decision.”

Manfred Weber, who is EPP chief and a vice-chair of the CSU, called Aigner the best candidate one could wish for at this time and urged the federal politicians to act without delay.

“Please do not lose any time now.”

Weber also warned the Union against further delay or against abandoning the idea of nominating a woman for the office for the first time. In the SPD, parliamentary managing director Dirk Wiese has spoken in favour of Aigner.

CDU position still open

According to CDU circles that Reuters reported on Friday, the party has not given up its claim to fill the post with a candidate from its own ranks. Names recently discussed within the CDU include Bundestag president Julia Klöckner, family minister Karin Prien and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who chairs the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Merz had not yet commented publicly on the candidate question, so the CDU's stance on Aigner remains unclear.

Timetable for Steinmeier's successor

Frank-Walter Steinmeier leaves office in March after two terms totalling ten years. The Federal Assembly, which consists of the 630 Bundestag members and an equal number of delegates from the state parliaments, is due to elect his successor on 30 January 2027. Union and SPD together hold a majority in that body, and the candidate must be agreed between the CDU, the CSU and the SPD.