Ilse Aigner, a CSU candidate for the position of Federal President, has appealed to the black-red coalition to include the Green Party in the selection process for the Federal Assembly election. Speaking to the weekly magazine “Die Zeit,” the President of the Bavarian State Parliament mentioned she would “find it charming if the Greens could be brought into the fold.” This appeal comes after Cem Özdemir, the Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg (Green Party), publicly suggested a unified candidate slate featuring representatives from the CDU, CSU, SPD, and Greens.
At the election scheduled for January 30, 2027, the black-red coalition holds a majority, meaning that Green Party support for a candidate would primarily carry symbolic weight. Concurrently, Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the CDU stated on Monday that the Union will be nominating a female candidate.
Aigner expressed confidence regarding the support for her candidacy from CSU Chief and Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder. She noted their relationship has been both “very close” and “very distant” over the years. Aigner referenced a period when she served as a minister in Söder’s cabinet until 2018, describing their dynamic as sometimes ambivalent, a description she believes Söder would find acceptable, but adding that the relationship has since become highly consistent. Recently, the CSU chairman reaffirmed his support for Aigner’s presidential bid at a party convention.
