North Rhine-Westphalia’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) reaffirmed Hendrik Wüst as its leader at a party convention held in Bonn on Saturday. The 50-year-old secured an overwhelming 98 percent of delegate votes, running unopposed in the leadership contest.
Wüst initially assumed the position in 2021, succeeding Armin Laschet with 98.3 percent of the vote and was reconfirmed in 2023 with 96.7 percent support. Within the party, he is often viewed as a potential rival to federal party leader Friedrich Merz, who is scheduled to address the convention, publicly demonstrating a united front.
The NRW-CDU aims to leverage the momentum from the convention ahead of the upcoming local elections on September 14th. Current polling suggests the party is positioned for strong results in cities and counties across the state. Looking further ahead to the next state parliamentary election, slated for 2027, the CDU currently leads with 35 to 39 percent support, significantly ahead of other parties. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) are currently competing for second place, both polling within the 14 to 18 percent range.
