Merz to nominate Ilse Aigner as Germany's first female Bundespräsidentin

Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced at a CDU presidium dinner in Berlin that he will formally propose Bavarian state parliament president Ilse Aigner of the CSU as Germany's next federal president on Monday. Aigner would be both the first woman and the first CSU politician to hold the country's highest office.

Merz is set to present Aigner to the CDU's presidium and federal executive board at their regular Monday session, after which he and Aigner will travel to Munich for a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the main synagogue, where they will also meet CSU leader Markus Söder.

The Federal Assembly — comprising the 630 Bundestag members plus an equal number of delegates from the Länder — will vote on 30 January to succeed incumbent President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The coalition of Union and SPD holds a majority of roughly 50 votes in that body, making Aigner's election highly probable.

Support for Aigner has spread across party lines. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil said she possesses "eine wahnsinnig integrative Kraft" — an enormously integrative force — that Germany needs at this moment. The Greens and Junge Union chairman Johannes Winkel, who called her an "exzellente Kandidatin", have also spoken in favour. Aigner is 61 years old.