The CSU politician Ilse Aigner is set to be nominated as the candidate for the office of Federal President. The decision is expected to be made by the CDU's committees on Sunday and Monday in Berlin. Aigner is 61 years old and would be the first woman to head the state as well as the first CSU politician in this office.
According to sources close to the news agency dpa, Chancellor Friedrich Merz intends to formally submit the proposal to the CDU's committees. Merz defended the agreed procedure and stated that he had committed to a woman as the candidate. Settling on a woman was part of the process through which the Union intends to determine the successor to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The election of the successor will take place on January 30 at the Federal Convention. The Union and the SPD together hold a majority of around 50 votes there. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil announced that his party will support Aigner's candidacy. This would make an election result with broad backing from the two large governing factions likely, even if the majority is narrow.
Criticism of the chancellor's approach has also come from the opposition. The Green politicians Britta Haßelmann and Omid Nouripour criticized the handling of the selection process. CDU member of parliament Roderich Kiesewetter also criticized the drawn-out and, as he put it, amateurish procedure. The criticism is thus directed not only at the opposition but also at the way the Union has prepared its decision.
The AfD, represented by Tino Chrupalla, and the Left party reject Aigner. The Left party had called for a non-partisan candidate. The dispute over the candidacy thus highlights the differing expectations placed on the highest state office, which is traditionally designed to be above party politics.
Aigner was first proposed in April by Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder. Subsequently, more and more CDU state chairs expressed support for her candidacy. The development thus moved from a proposal from the CSU toward broader support within the Union.
It remains open what consequences the decision will have for the distribution of power between the Union parties. In Berlin, it is considered unlikely that the CSU would hold both the office of head of state and that of chancellor. Markus Söder or CSU parliamentary group leader Alexander Dobrindt are mentioned as possible chancellor candidates for the period after the next federal election. With Aigner's nomination, the question of the Union's future leadership is therefore also shifting.