Merz's conservatives move toward Aigner as Germany's first woman president

Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives are moving toward nominating Ilse Aigner, president of the Bavarian state parliament and a figure in the Bavarian CSU, as Germany's next president, which would make her the first woman to hold the largely ceremonial office. The Federal Assembly elects Steinmeier's successor in 2027, and Merz has said he wants a woman as the parties' consensus candidate, though some in his own CDU have reservations about Aigner specifically. CSU leader Markus Söder has pushed hardest for her candidacy.

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