Overview

• Bundestagspräsidentin Julia Klöckner highlighted that no woman has held the Bundespräsident office since 1949 and urged her CDU to back a female candidate.
• Greens leader Britta Haßelmann criticized Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s male-only power circle and said a woman at the state’s helm is long overdue.
• Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s second term ends on March 18, 2027, and he is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.
• Names mentioned as potential first female Bundespräsidentin include Ilse Aigner, Karin Prien and Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann.
• Control of the Bundesversammlung vote hinges on the CDU/CSU’s willingness to nominate and support a woman in 2027.