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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has nominated Ilse Aigner as its candidate for president. The 61-year-old is on course to become Germany’s first woman in the post, Anadolu Agency reported.
“I am pleased to be able to tell you today that the federal executive committee of the CDU has accepted my proposal to nominate Ilse Aigner as our candidate for president,” Merz said at a press conference in Berlin.
He said Aigner had extensive political experience, a strong sense of responsibility and a deep commitment to parliamentary democracy.
“Her clear commitment to the fundamental values of our democracy, her dedication to respectful discourse in politics, and her consistent stance against extremism, hatred, and social exclusion, regardless of its source, make her a worthy candidate for this high office,” Merz said.
Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance and its coalition partner, the centre-left Social Democrats, hold a majority in the Federal Convention, which will elect the next president in January. Their selection of Aigner is therefore considered nearly certain.
The chancellor presented her as a conservative who could bridge divides in a polarized political climate. He said Germany needed a president who could command broad respect and help unite the country, describing her nomination as a response to challenges facing its democracy.
“The Federal Convention will convene to elect a president at a time marked by geopolitical crises, by growing tensions in our society, and by increasing support for the extremist political fringes,” Merz said. “This reality presents significant tasks for the new head of state. Over the next five years, the focus must be on holding our country together, remaining close to the people, and providing them with guidance and stability.”
Aigner has been active in the Christian Social Union (CSU), the CDU’s Bavarian sister party, since 1985. She served in the German Bundestag from 1998 to 2013, was federal agriculture minister from 2008 to 2013 and Bavaria’s deputy premier from 2013 to 2018. She has been president of the Bavarian state parliament since 2018.
The environmentalist Greens have also signalled support for Aigner’s candidacy. Coalition parties hold a majority of roughly 50 votes in the Federal Convention. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) is expected to nominate its own candidate, who is considered to have no chance given the assembly’s clear majority.
Germany’s current president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has served two terms and is ineligible for another.
The Federal Convention is Germany’s largest elective body and has the sole task of choosing the president. It holds no debate and elects the president without discussion. The body consists of all Bundestag members and an equal number of representatives chosen by state parliaments, for a total of 1,260 members.
