Friedrich Merz to lead Union into the Chancellery – the press conference

The K question in the Union has been decided. CDU party leader Friedrich Merz is to be the joint candidate for chancellor of the CDU and CSU in the federal election next year (the star reported). This leaked out from party circles on Tuesday morning, shortly before a planned press conference by Merz and CSU leader Markus Söder in Berlin.

Friedrich Merz prevails against Markus Söder

The two politicians based their decision on this. The debate about the Union’s top candidate recently picked up speed again after North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst announced on Monday that he was withdrawing and called for support for Merz. The Union parties actually wanted to name their candidate for chancellor after the state election in Brandenburg next Sunday.

Following the decision, Merz must now overcome formal hurdles in the party executive committees before he can officially be put forward as a candidate for the Union.

An exclusive starA recent survey showed that the majority of Germans consider Markus Söder to be, among other things, more understandable, a stronger leader, more likeable and more trustworthy than Friedrich Merz. The CDU leader is only ahead of Söder in the area of ​​competence (read details of the survey here).

The new Bundestag is to be elected on September 25, 2025. The SPD plans to enter the race with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck could become the top candidate for the Greens, and a primary election will decide on this. In the AfD, Alice Weidel is likely to lay claim to the top candidacy.

Watch the Union’s press conference in the video above Berlin.

This article has been updated several times. Video source: ntv. Transparency note: Like ntv, Stern is part of RTL Germany.