It should be a woman - but who Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants to succeed Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in office is still unclear.
A decision for a CDU candidate is expected at the beginning of next week. Their chances are uncertain, because Ilse Aigner, the Bavarian state parliament president proposed by the CSU, enjoys cross-party recognition. An overview of the names circulating:
Family and Education Minister Karin Prien
Karin Prien (CDU) is Federal Minister for Education, Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and therefore has the power to shape very fundamental everyday issues. The 61-year-old is the first Jewish federal minister. She was born in Amsterdam, where her German grandparents had fled from the Nazis. She only took German citizenship at the age of 26.
In the past, Prien made a name for herself nationwide as an education politician and has also been deputy party leader since 2022. The mother of three regularly addresses anti-Semitism in Germany and the rise of the AfD in a warning manner. Most recently, she made headlines with the parental allowance reform: because of the austerity requirements, she introduced a series of cuts, but then weakened them again after considerable protest.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner
Klöckner has been President of the Bundestag since March last year and therefore holds the second highest state office. The 53-year-old has a stricter approach than her predecessor Bärbel Bas (SPD). She runs parliament with cool severity, regularly threatens those who disrupt the plenary session with expulsion, and has tightened the dress code. She came under criticism, among other things, for her refusal to raise the rainbow flag at the Bundestag for the CSD, as well as her dealings with the churches, to which she ordered political restraint.
The politician, who was born in Bad Kreuznach, looks back on a long career in state and federal politics, including as Federal Minister of Agriculture.
Former Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
The list of positions held by “AKK” is long: Saarland’s prime minister, CDU general secretary, party leader, defense minister – and almost on the way to inheriting then-Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). Since the beginning of this year, the mother of three from Völklingen in Saarland has chaired the party-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Party loyalty is also what the 64-year-old embodies. Kramp-Karrenbauer is considered dutiful, unpretentious and down-to-earth. At the same time, she can show emotions: After resigning as party leader in the wake of the government crisis in Thuringia, she admitted pain, disappointment and loss of authority at the party conference. At that time, the FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich was elected Prime Minister with CDU and AfD votes, which explicitly violated the party line of the federal CDU.
Hesse's parliamentary group leader and federal deputy Ines Claus
Ines Claus, on the other hand, is hardly known nationwide compared to the other names circulating. The 49-year-old comes from Bochum, is a qualified lawyer and has three children. Claus has been chairwoman of the CDU state parliamentary group in Hesse since April 2020 and has only been one of six deputies in the federal CDU since the beginning of this year.
The fact that her name is circulating is a surprise. According to a report, she is said to be one of Merz's favorites to succeed Steinmeier. As a precaution, Claus has already signaled his interest himself.
Bavarian State Parliament President Ilse Aigner
The CSU politician Ilse Aigner is one of the most experienced candidates in the field. The 61-year-old comes from Feldkirchen-Westerham in Upper Bavaria and initially trained as a radio and television technician before further training to become a state-certified electrical engineer. From 1998 to 2013 she sat in the Bundestag, after which she was Deputy Prime Minister of Bavaria for five years. From 2008 to 2013 she was a member of Angela Merkel's cabinet as Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. She has been at the head of the Bavarian State Parliament since 2018.
Aigner is considered a pragmatic politician who is recognized across party lines. Her long government experience at federal and state levels as well as her current position as President of the State Parliament could speak for her. At the same time, her nomination would be a decision with political weight: Merz would have to position herself against other candidates from her own party and take into account the proposal of her coalition partner, the CSU.
AfD politician Baumann considers proposed candidates to be unsuitable
The first parliamentary managing director of the AfD parliamentary group, Bernd Baumann, does not think that the people currently in the CDU/CSU will succeed Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Steinmeier himself also failed in office. “These are all people who belong to this mainstream,” he says on WELT TV. Like Steinmeier, he calls the candidates “pseudo-compensatory” and “one-sided”.
Baumann did not want to name his own candidate yet. But “it would have to be a person who does not come from these parties in terms of party politics who continues this firewall policy,” said Baumann.
