The heads of government from Bremen and Saxony have supported a potential candidacy for Ilse Aigner (CSU) for the position of Federal President. Saxony’s Minister-President, Michael Kretschmer (CDU), told the ARD-Hauptstadtstudio’s “Report from Berlin” that the CSU politician is a “totally outstanding personality.” Kretschmer explicitly backed the idea of having a woman as the next head of state, asserting that such a person must be capable of uniting the country and must possess cross-party appeal. He concluded that “this applies to Ilse Aigner.”
According to newspaper reports, there is an internal demand within the CDU to nominate a candidate from their own ranks. However, the Minister-President of Saxony does not consider this requirement obligatory. Kretschmer stated, “I believe we should find the best personality for this country.”
Support for Aigner is also coming from the SPD. Bremen Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) stated that Aigner possesses “the necessary requirements-in terms of expertise, her appearance, but also her empathetic attitude.” He also noted that it would be “very right” for Germany to finally have a female Federal President. However, Bovenschulte pointed out that the decision is not solely in the hands of the SPD, emphasizing that the CDU is now expected to take the lead, and the Chancellor is also being called upon.
Markus Söder, the Minister-President of Bavaria and CSU Party Chairman, reaffirmed the CSU’s intent to put Ilse Aigner forward for the presidency. Söder noted that the CSU has never nominated either a Federal Chancellor or a Federal President in the past 75 years, commenting that they could argue that they are now due a chance. Although the CDU has favored a woman, the party has not yet put forward any specific proposals, with Söder saying, “I have not heard any other names.”
Anne König (CDU), the spokeswoman on women’s issues for the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, expressed openness to candidates from the sister party, stating, “For me, it is not decisive whether the person comes from the CDU or the CSU.” König added that the Union has “excellent women within its ranks who convince through their political career.”
In contrast, Mathias Middelberg (CDU), the Deputy Chairman of the Union parliamentary group, emphasized that he finds no merit in discussions about the candidate’s gender. He argued that “regardless whether it is a woman, a man, a dog, a cat, or a mouse-it must be a candidate with genuine political authority.”
The CDU plans to address the candidate question during its Presidium meeting on November 9th. The Federal Convention is scheduled to convene at the end of January to elect the successor to the current Federal President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
