In brief
Friedrich Merz announced Ilse Aigner as the Christian Democratic Union’s candidate for president at a Berlin press conference. Aigner, currently Bavarian state parliament president, is expected to win the January 30 election by the Federal Convention due to her party’s majority. The nomination aims to unite Germany amid geopolitical crises and rising extremism.
On Nov. 9, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Ilse Aigner, the president of the Bavarian state parliament, will be the Christian Democratic Union’s official candidate for the federal presidency. The announcement was made during a press conference in Berlin, where Merz confirmed that the CDU’s federal executive board had backed his proposal.
Aigner, a member of the Christian Social Union, said she aims to be “a candidate of the strong center to bridge social divides and counter populist and extremist forces.”
The next German federal president will be elected by the Federal Convention on Jan. 30, 2027. The convention, which synchronizes the lower house and state representatives, meets only every five years to elect the head of state.
Because the Christian Democratic Union and its allied parties hold a solid majority in the convention, Aigner is widely expected to win the election.
Merz said Germany needs a president who can unite the country and steer it through current geopolitical crises and rising extremism, framing Aigner as a figure capable of fulfilling that role.
