Angela Merkel should help elect the Federal President
The parties from the states are allowed to determine who elects the new head of state in the Federal Assembly. Former Chancellor Merkel, among others, is coming for the CDU in January, albeit thanks to nomination help.
Quick Look
- Former Chancellor Angela Merkel will take part in the Federal Assembly to elect the new Federal President in January 2027 as a delegate from the CDU from Schleswig-Holstein.
- The decision is made through a nomination aid.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Federal Assembly elects the new head of state of the Federal Republic of Germany. Frank-Walter Steinmeier's successor will be decided on January 30, 2027.
It is still unclear who the individual parties want to propose for the office of Federal President. What is already being negotiated is who can vote. The CDU in Schleswig-Holstein now wants to send former Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Federal Assembly next year. Several media outlets had previously reported.
The Federal Assembly is filled with personalities from politics and society. The delegates then choose the new head of state from the parties' proposals.
Merkel was sent into the race by Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in 2022. Now the neighboring country is taking over: "After the CDU parliamentary group left the Schwerin state parliament, we as neighbors were happy to accept the appointment of Ms. Merkel with full conviction," said Schleswig-Holstein's CDU parliamentary group leader Tobias Koch, explaining the decision.
Federal Education Minister Karin Prien and Prime Minister Daniel Günther as well as former handball star Patrick Wiencek are expected to elect the next head of state for the CDU from Schleswig-Holstein.
The successor to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will be decided on January 30, 2027. The federal states are currently appointing their electors for the Federal Assembly, even if the black-red coalition in Berlin has not yet decided on a candidate.
The former Chancellor recently campaigned for a woman to succeed Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "There are 77 years of history in the Federal Republic of Germany, and there has never been a woman as Federal President," complained Merkel in an interview on MagentaTV. Everyone has to ask themselves “whether now isn’t the time,” said the CDU politician in the talk show “Bestbesatz” with Johannes B. Kerner.
Within the Union, the CSU in particular is campaigning for the Bavarian state parliament president Ilse Aigner. The CDU includes, among others, Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, Education Minister Karin Prien and former party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. At the same time, Chancellor Friedrich Merz did not want to commit to the fact that a woman had to be nominated.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Election of the Federal President by the Federal Assembly
Very likely · Within months
Open Questions
- Who will be the coalition's official candidate?
- Will a woman be chosen as Federal President?
