Germany’s next federal president should be a woman. This was stated by Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz at a closed conference of the chairs of the party’s district organizations in Berlin.
According to reports by “Der Spiegel” and “Die Zeit”, citing various sources, Merz said he would propose a candidate to the CDU who could win support from the political center. “I have categorically decided that this must be a woman,” the chancellor said, according to participants in the meeting.
The statement was also confirmed by a report from the German Press Agency (dpa), cited by “Tagesschau” and other German media. Until now, Merz has avoided publicly committing to a specific gender or name in the race to succeed Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The candidate’s name is still unknown
Merz did not name a specific candidate during the meeting. He said he would propose a “consensus candidate” from the political center, suggesting a search for a figure with broader support beyond the CDU and CSU.
The CSU already supports the president of the Bavarian parliament, Ilse Aigner. Her candidacy has also received positive signals from representatives of the Social Democratic Party and the Greens. Merz, however, insists that the CDU, as the strongest political force in the Bundestag, should play the leading role in putting forward the candidate.
Names mentioned in the German media include Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, Education Minister Karin Prien, former CDU leader and former Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, and head of the CDU parliamentary group in Hesse, Ines Claus. There has been no official confirmation that any of them has been selected.
The election will take place in January 2027
The Federal Convention will elect Steinmeier’s successor on 30 January 2027. The body consists of 630 members of the Bundestag and a further 630 representatives of Germany’s federal states. According to current estimates, the coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD has a majority of approximately 50 votes, but Merz wants to seek broader support, including from the Greens.
By the time of the meeting of the CDU’s governing bodies on 9 November, the chancellor is expected to hold talks with the chairs of the party’s regional organizations, the CDU state premiers and the CSU leadership. The talks should then be expanded to include the coalition partner, the SPD, and the Greens.
Germany has so far never had a woman as federal president. The election of a female candidate would therefore represent a historic change, but the specific nomination and final support in the Federal Convention have yet to be decided.
Sources: tagesschau.de, zdfheute.de, orf.at