Personnel | The Ilse

Photo: IMAGO/Sven Simon She has already been Federal Minister of Agriculture, Bavarian Economics Minister, Bavarian Construction Minister and, for two days, acting Prime Minister of the Free State. And next? Ilse Aigner could become the lady of the castle. Frank-Walter Steinmeier's term of office as Federal President ends next March. Bellevue Palace is looking for a new resident and Aigner's name has been considered for the highest state office for more than a year.

There could be a preliminary decision this weekend as to whether the speculation will become reality. The CSU meets at the party conference. Party leader Markus Söder recently spoke out clearly in favor of Ilse Aigner's nomination on the Caren Miosga talk show. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is also expected at the party conference; he could signal his support for the Upper Bavarian. In the Federal Assembly, the CDU and CSU have 432 seats, the SPD has 252. Together, that is enough for a majority.

Ilse Aigner comes from the municipality of Feldkirchen-Westerham. Her father ran an electrical business there, where Aigner completed training as a radio and television technician after graduating from secondary school. After further training, she worked for the helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter in Bonn. To this day, Aigner is proud to have co-developed parts that are installed in the Airbus H135 helicopter. A sensitivity to gender issues also comes from that time. In a “Münchner Merkur” podcast, Aigner recently expressed his understanding that many young women vote for the left. The party is now addressing existing inequalities.

Considerative positioning is a trademark of the 61-year-old politician. Lars Klingbeil recently described her as a “bridge builder,” a quality that would fit well with the office of Federal President.

It was not foreseeable for a long time that this would now be the big, non-partisan office for Aigner. She was considered one of the top talents in the CSU and was at times considered a possible Bavarian Prime Minister. Aigner's career began early; in 1990 she "inherited" a local council seat in Feldkirchen-Westerham from her father. Four years later, she became the youngest member of the Munich state parliament. In 1998 he moved to the Bundestag. In the 2005 and 2009 elections, she received the most first votes of all candidates. In 2013, Aigner resigned from the position of Federal Minister of Agriculture, which she had held since 2008, to switch to Bavarian politics. Horst Seehofer made her deputy prime minister and economics minister, and she later became president of the Bavarian state parliament.

As such it is popular. According to a survey by “Bayerischer Rundfunk”, 59 percent of those surveyed consider Aigner to be a suitable Federal President. Only the majority of AfD supporters are against them. Aigner is single and is considered to be quite close to the people. In Bavaria she is usually addressed as “Die Ilse”. That shouldn't happen that often in Bellevue anymore.

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