Chancellor Merz wants to propose Aigner as Federal President

First woman in office Merz wants to propose Aigner as Federal President As of: November 8th, 2026 • 9:05 p.m

Until now, Chancellor Merz had held back on the question of the successor to the Federal President. Now he made it official: The CDU leader wants to propose Ilse Aigner on Monday - as the first woman in this office.

Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz has decided on the candidacy of the Bavarian state parliament president Ilse Aigner (CSU) for the office of federal president. According to information from CDU circles, Merz announced at a party leadership dinner in Berlin that she would officially propose the CSU politician to the CDU committees on Monday as a candidate for the highest state office.

The ARD capital studio found out on Friday that the Union wanted to nominate Aigner for this. Until now, Merz had not wanted to confirm this because he wanted to speak to the CDU committees first. Aigner would not only be the first woman, but also the first CSU politician to take on the highest state office.

Ilse Aigner has the best chance of becoming Germany's first female president. A portrait. more

Aigner is scheduled to introduce himself at the regular meeting of the CDU presidium and federal executive board on Monday. After a joint statement, Merz and Aigner then travel to Munich for the ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the main synagogue, where they also meet CSU leader Markus Söder.

Various parties - including the SPD and the Greens - had recently spoken out in favor of Aigner. Aigner has “an incredibly integrative power” that Germany needs, especially in these times, said SPD leader Lars Klingbeil.

"Excellent candidate", Johannes Winkel, chairman of the Junge Union, on Ilse Aigner's personality Report from Berlin, Das Erste, November 8th, 2026 • 6:00 p.m. Election of the Federal President's Office on January 30th Johannes Winkel, chairman of the Junge Union, also described Aigner as an "excellent candidate" in the report from Berlin. He considers her to be a politician who has different social groups in mind and has a lot of experience.

The Federal Assembly, which includes the 630 members of the Bundestag as many voters from the federal states, will decide on January 30th about the successor to Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The Union and SPD have a majority of around 50 votes there. It is considered very likely that the 61-year-old will be elected to the head of state.

This topic in the program: tagesschau.de | Chancellor Merz proposes Ilse Aigner as federal presidential candidate in the presidium | November 8, 2026 | 8:40 p.m.NDR Info | News | November 8, 2026 | 9:00 p.m. Tagesschau24 | News | November 8, 2026 | 9:00 p.m