Ilse Aigner: CSU politician takes stock of Instagram and looks to the future

Ilse Aigner, as a possible Federal President, is already receiving widespread support even before she is expected to be chosen as a candidate. Now the CSU politician has spoken out in an Instagram post. In the article she looks back on her eight years as President of the Bavarian State Parliament. Among other things, she thanks the trust that the MPs have placed in her. It had previously become known that the Union wanted to nominate Aigner as a candidate for the office of Federal President.

Aigner does not comment on this in the entry. But at the end of the article she writes: “But there is still a lot to do in the future – and I look forward to making my contribution to it!”. However, she leaves open what future she specifically means.

With a view to her time in Bavaria, the 61-year-old also writes: "My claim was and is to be president for everyone - neutral in party politics, but with a clear stance when it comes to protecting our democracy and the dignity of our constitution." She looks back on eight years “full of valuable encounters, challenges, intensive debates and important decisions.” She calls the news of Hubert Aiwanger's death one of the "sad moments."

On Sunday evening at 8 p.m. the CDU presidium will meet in Berlin for consultations. It is expected that party leader and Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz will propose Aigner as the Union's joint candidate for the election in the Federal Assembly on January 30th - and thus as the successor to incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil had already announced that his party welcomed and supported Aigner's candidacy.

Stegner criticizes “weak leadership” when selecting candidates

There is currently criticism of the nomination process. "The entire process shows the weakness of leadership, which is a central problem of this government coalition," said SPD politician Ralf Stegner to the "Rheinische Post." Merz appears “thanks to Markus Söder to be the driving force behind this selection process.” Söder is CSU leader and Prime Minister of Bavaria.

Stegner rated Aigner's personality positively. The Bavarian state parliament president is a good choice as the first female federal president "because she is smart and has integrity, is respected across party lines and at the same time down-to-earth," said the SPD politician. "In times of great challenges to democracy from right-wing extremist parties, this should not be underestimated."

The Greens had previously criticized the Union's approach. “Friedrich Merz has once again lost an important personnel procedure,” said former Green Party leader Omid Nouripour to the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”. Britta Haßelmann, co-parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, told the dpa news agency: “The unprofessional search by the Union and Friedrich Merz is unworthy of this office. How can you derail a process like that?”