Federal Minister for Research, Dorothee Bär of the CSU, has expressed her support for Ilse Aigner, the President of the Bavarian State Parliament, as a viable candidate to succeed Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. In interviews given to the Funk media group’s Thursday editions, Bär stated that “Ilse Aigner could do it, she is popular, and she is doing good work as the President of the Bavarian State Parliament.” Furthermore, Bär believes that Germany is now ready to have a female head of state, asserting that “Germany has long been prepared for a female Federal President.”
The coalition partners-the CDU, CSU, and SPD-had previously arranged to present a unified proposal for Steinmeier’s successor following the state elections scheduled for September. However, such a proposal has not yet been submitted. Bär believes that the party leaders of the CDU, CSU, and SPD have already agreed upon a timeline for this process. When questioned about whether she was frustrated by the delay, the CSU politician replied that she maintains great inner calm, adding, “I am post-genervt.”
