Overview
- On Wednesday, October 28 media reports named Hesse CDU leader Ines Claus as a possible CDU candidate while Merz’s office said he has not made a decision or formally proposed anyone.
- The CSU has put forward Ilse Aigner and has won visible backing from SPD and Green figures, giving her potential cross‑party appeal that could secure a Federal Assembly majority.
- The CDU insists it holds the formal right to propose a candidate and has scheduled internal consultations with a target decision at the CDU Präsidium and Bundesvorstand meeting on 9 November.
- Critics from the Greens and the Left have called Merz’s public reticence unprofessional and warned that internal CDU/CSU jockeying risks fragmenting the Union and straining coalition relations; SPD politicians such as Hubertus Heil have publicly endorsed Aigner.
- Next steps are talks within the CDU and between Union leaders and then consultations with the SPD and Greens before the Federal Assembly elects the next president on 30 January 2027, a vote where the coalition’s narrow majority makes cross‑party acceptability decisive.