Ines Claus instead of Ilse Aigner? CDU floats its own candidate for German president
Hesse CDU politician Ines Claus signals interest in becoming federal president. The CSU wants Aigner, raising the prospect of a rift in the Union. Merz plans to decide after his Asia trip.
Archive image · Photo: Martin Kraft / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
A new name has emerged in Germany's conservative Union for head of state: Ines Claus, deputy chair of the Christian Democrats and leader of the CDU group in the Hesse state parliament. The 49-year-old lawyer told the Rheinische Post it was “a great honour to be mentioned in this context,” while calling for an orderly process involving state premiers, the CDU and CSU leaderships and the coalition partner. The paper said Claus is Chancellor Friedrich Merz's favourite, but an aide to Merz said he had neither committed himself nor made a proposal.
The Bavarian CSU wants state parliament president Ilse Aigner for the post, and the Social Democrats and Greens have already backed her. CDU sources, however, said giving up the candidacy was “not possible.” Union sources quoted by the Rheinische Post described Claus as a recognised, assertive and respected politician whose drawback is her low national profile. According to dpa, prominent CDU figures view the idea sceptically.
The Federal Convention will elect Frank-Walter Steinmeier's successor on Jan. 30 next year. Merz intends to decide next week after returning from Asia. Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Karin Prien have also been mentioned.