Steinmeier-Nachfolge: Immer mehr CDU-Landeschefs für Aigner

In the CDU, support for Ilse Aigner as a candidate for the role of Federal President is growing, with seven out of 17 state chairmen backing the Bavarian state parliamentary president. Notably, Manuel Hagel, head of the second-largest state association Baden-Württemberg, and the three eastern German CDU ministers have expressed their support.

Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) remains silent, as does Hendrik Wüst, the president of the largest state association Nordrhein-Westfalen, who stated, "There are many highly suitable personalities for the office." The decision is expected to be made on Monday when the CDU's presidium and executive meet in Berlin's Konrad-Adenauer building.

The Federal Assembly will decide on January 30th who will succeed the current Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Both the Union and SPD have around a 50-vote majority and aim to reach a consensus on a joint candidate. The CSU has clearly supported Aigner at their party congress two weeks ago, alongside the SPD, which has also signaled its endorsement.

The Ost-Ministerpräsidenten (eastern state prime ministers) initiated the Aigner wave, and Aigner's supporters include the CSU-affiliated eastern state ministers Mario Voigt (Thuringia), Michael Kretschmer (Saxony), and Sven Schulze (Saxony-Anhalt). The three western state chairmen, Hagel, Dennis Thering (Berlin), and Wüst, have now joined the Aigner camp.

Hagel emphasized Aigner's broad appeal, stating that she combines clarity with warmth, speaking "on an equal footing, always empathetically." Germany needs "a voice that brings people together" as its head of state at the moment, he added. State chairmen play a crucial role in the candidate search as half the electors in the Federal Assembly come from the states.

Some powerful state leaders remain silent, including Wüst, Hessens Ministerpräsident Boris Rhein, the Niedersachsen state minister Sebastian Lechner, the Rheinland-Pfalz minister Gordon Schnieder, and Schleswig-Holstein's government chief Daniel Günther. Union faction leader Thorsten Frei also showed sympathy for Aigner, praising her as an "exceptionally outstanding personality" who has proven her worth through decades of Bavarian and German politics.

Other potential candidates cited include Union Bundestag president Julia Klöckner, Education Minister Karin Prien, former CDU chief Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, and Hessen state faction chief Ines Claus. However, no prominent CDU politician has openly endorsed any of them. SPD ministers and Baden-Württemberg's government chief Cem Özdemir also back Aigner, praising her for being grounded, having a sense of people's concerns, and speaking their language.