Ilse Aigner. Photo Credit: @IlseAigner, X
November 10, 2026
Rapporteur
By Björn Stritzel
Key Takeaways:
Aigner, president of the Bavarian parliament and a CSU member, won support from the SPD, Greens and key CDU figures after Merz delayed his decision.
The Federal Convention will elect the successor to Frank-Walter Steinmeier on 30 January; her nomination also reduces the chance that Bavarian premier Markus Söder becomes chancellor.
(Rapporteur) — Germany is on course to elect its first female president after Chancellor Friedrich Merz backed Bavaria’s Ilse Aigner, ending weeks of infighting among the country’s conservative Christian Democrats.
Aigner, president of the Bavarian state parliament and a member of the CSU, the Christian Democrat CDU’s sister party, was formally nominated at the party’s executive committee meeting on Monday morning.
A ‘Federal Convention’, a special body of parliamentarians from the Bundestag and regional assemblies, will elect the new head of state on 30 January, as incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a former Social Democrat, is barred from seeking a third consecutive term.
Merz had remained silent on Steinmeier’s succession until the last moment, fuelling considerable discontent within his own party.
The CSU had enthusiastically endorsed Aigner at its party conference a month earlier. However, Merz, who attended as a guest speaker, made no mention of her potential candidacy. Instead, CDU figures from other regional branches put forward Bundestag President Julia Klöckner as a possible candidate.
A CDU lawmaker told Rapporteur that Merz had probably been unwilling to let the smaller CSU dictate his choice.
Last week, however, pressure on Merz to back Aigner became impossible to ignore. His coalition partner, the Social Democrats and the Greens both backed her, followed by the three CDU state premiers in eastern Germany and Manuel Hagel, the party’s leader in Baden-Württemberg
Aigner served as agriculture minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel before returning to Bavarian politics in 2013. She has presided over the Bavarian state parliament since 2018.
Her appeal also extend beyond the conservative block with the SPD and Greens citing her ability to unite the country and bridge political divide.
For Merz, whose handling of the nomination process drew criticism, there is at least one consolation: his Bavarian rival, state premier Markus Söder, has effectively dashed his own hopes of becoming chancellor.
Having both the presidency and the chancellorship in the hands of the CSU would be difficult to imagine, a CDU lawmaker told Rapporteur.
November 10, 2026
Rapporteur
By Björn Stritzel
Key Takeaways:
Chancellor Friedrich Merz endorsed Bavaria’s Ilse Aigner, ending conservative infighting and putting her on track to become Germany’s first female president.
Aigner, president of the Bavarian parliament and a CSU member, won support from the SPD, Greens and key CDU figures after Merz delayed his decision.
The Federal Convention will elect the successor to Frank-Walter Steinmeier on 30 January; her nomination also reduces the chance that Bavarian premier Markus Söder becomes chancellor.
(Rapporteur) — Germany is on course to elect its first female president after Chancellor Friedrich Merz backed Bavaria’s Ilse Aigner, ending weeks of infighting among the country’s conservative Christian Democrats.
Aigner, president of the Bavarian state parliament and a member of the CSU, the Christian Democrat CDU’s sister party, was formally nominated at the party’s executive committee meeting on Monday morning.
A ‘Federal Convention’, a special body of parliamentarians from the Bundestag and regional assemblies, will elect the new head of state on 30 January, as incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a former Social Democrat, is barred from seeking a third consecutive term.
Merz had remained silent on Steinmeier’s succession until the last moment, fuelling considerable discontent within his own party.
The CSU had enthusiastically endorsed Aigner at its party conference a month earlier. However, Merz, who attended as a guest speaker, made no mention of her potential candidacy. Instead, CDU figures from other regional branches put forward Bundestag President Julia Klöckner as a possible candidate.
A CDU lawmaker told Rapporteur that Merz had probably been unwilling to let the smaller CSU dictate his choice.
Last week, however, pressure on Merz to back Aigner became impossible to ignore. His coalition partner, the Social Democrats and the Greens both backed her, followed by the three CDU state premiers in eastern Germany and Manuel Hagel, the party’s leader in Baden-Württemberg
Aigner served as agriculture minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel before returning to Bavarian politics in 2013. She has presided over the Bavarian state parliament since 2018.
Her appeal also extend beyond the conservative block with the SPD and Greens citing her ability to unite the country and bridge political divide.
For Merz, whose handling of the nomination process drew criticism, there is at least one consolation: his Bavarian rival, state premier Markus Söder, has effectively dashed his own hopes of becoming chancellor.
Having both the presidency and the chancellorship in the hands of the CSU would be difficult to imagine, a CDU lawmaker told Rapporteur.
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