Overview
- Delegates are set to formally confirm state party leader Sven Schulze as lead candidate after his nomination by Minister-President Reiner Haseloff and the CDU board.
- The proposed slate is heavily male, with only nine women among 41 candidates, just three women in the top 20, and the first woman, Karin Tschernich-Weiske, listed at number ten.
- Former education minister Eva Feußner declined the offered slot 37, Bundestag vice floor leader Sepp Müller voted against the list in the state board, and a letter from Marion Rosin and Chris Günther criticized a breach of federal CDU gender targets.
- General secretary Mario Karschunke emphasized the list is only a proposal for delegates to decide, the party cites a regional allocation principle, and contested votes are considered possible including over Markus Kurze’s planned placement at number eight.
- Recent surveys put the AfD roughly 14 points ahead at about 40 percent, and Schulze’s voter recognition lags far behind outgoing leader Haseloff, heightening the stakes for the decision.