Merz and CDU leadership back Aigner for German president

Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the CDU leadership have backed Ilse Aigner as a candidate for German president. The Union must still formally nominate her before the Federal Convention elects the president on January 30.

CSU leader Markus Söder proposed Aigner in April. Aigner is president of the Bavarian state parliament and served as federal agriculture minister from 2008 to 2013.