Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder in Berlin on Tuesday
The exhausting production lasted for months, but in the end Markus Söder said shortly: “The K question has been decided. Friedrich Merz is doing it. I am fine with that and I explicitly support it.” With these words, the CSU leader announced in a joint press statement in Berlin that he would drop his candidacy for chancellor in the September 2025 federal elections in favour of CDU leader Merz. The party leaders had previously agreed to this approach in a debate in the Bavarian delegation. Söder described Merz’s candidacy as “reluctant” but as having “my full support, along with a very high level of personal respect.”
Merz thanked “dear Markus” for his support and stressed that he had reassured himself with the CDU’s state associations in the past few days. He especially thanks the North Rhine-Westphalia state association for supporting him. On Monday, Hendrik Wüst, a long-time candidate for federal chancellor, decided not to run for office, meaning that he would become the next federal chancellor, given the circumstances, and promised Merz the support of the regional associations.
Both Söder and Merz stressed in their statement that they agreed that “2021 must not be repeated.” They were referring to the dispute that arose before the 2021 federal election over the candidate for federal chancellor, when Armin Laschet won against Söder, who retaliated against Laschet with constant taunts during the campaign. This spectacle was later blamed for the federal defeat.
On Tuesday, the party leadership appealed for unity among its sister parties. Söder explained that they were “back together on the core issue that has divided us since 2015: migration.” Now there is “complete agreement” again, the CSU boss said. “We have only one goal: to change the traffic lights and finally get Germany back on track,” Merz said. “We are back on track,” he said. “We are in a position politically, organizationally, in terms of personnel. The CDU and CSU can now participate in the federal election campaign.
Merz added that the coalition wants to take up “the responsibility of leadership in Germany” again. “Let’s continue to work on policies that will move Germany forward again, policies that will make the country function again and policies that will make us proud again of our homeland, Germany.” The coalition has already achieved a lot within the opposition. On immigration, the federal government “now has to make decisions here and there to make better decisions.” Immigration remains a big issue, but it should not necessarily be the main issue in the federal election campaign. The coalition would rather tackle the issue with a traffic light. The CDU and CSU leadership are expected to make a formal decision on the question of a chancellor candidate next Monday.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) commented on the coalition in Kazakhstan. “If Mr. Merz is the trade union candidate for chancellor, that’s fine,” he said when asked. Scholz has previously stated several times that he would like Merz to be his challenger in the next federal election.
But the SPD has yet to decide who will run. There are still moves within the party to promote the “much more popular” Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, said Munich Mayor (OB) Dieter Reiter. daily mirror (Tuesday’s edition) said he agreed with “99 per cent” of the prime minister’s decisions, but he got the impression “he takes too long to actually make decisions and rarely or never explains his decisions”. Pistorius, on the other hand, speaks “clear and understandable language”, the mayor said.
