Next German president should be a woman, says Merz

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking at a closed-door meeting of local CDU officials, expressed his desire for a woman to become the next German president. The largely ceremonial position is set to be filled by an election scheduled for January 30, following the term of current President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Merz, a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, made his stance clear, stating, "My mind is made up on one point: it has to be a woman."

However, he did not disclose any specific candidates, leaving the identity of the prospective female president to be determined later. Potential candidates within the CDU include Bundestag speaker Julia Kloeckner, education minister Karin Prien, and former defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. The CDU's sister party in Bavaria, the CSU, has already proposed Ilse Aigner, the parliamentary speaker from the southern region, as a candidate to succeed Steinmeier.

The new president will be elected by an assembly consisting of approximately 1,260 voters, primarily comprising members of the two houses of parliament and some representatives from civil society.