BerlinIlse Aigner, 61, would be Germany’s first woman president.
Merz’s Christian Democrats ended weeks of strain with their Bavarian sister party, German media report.
The Bundestag and delegates from 16 states form the Federal Convention that elects the president, reportedly on 30 January.
“I don’t have the killer instinct,” said Aigner, speaker of Bavaria’s parliament.
Party committees meet Monday to confirm her nomination before Steinmeier’s term ends in March 2027.
How each outlet framed it
drawn from 150+ reports worldwide
- Bloomberg Business leans favorable
- Reuters
- shows the CDU-CSU rift over Aigner, noting Merz held back endorsement while weighing alternatives, straining relations between the sister parties
- France 24 leans favorable
- casts Aigner's appeal as Bavarian warmth and a consensual style against an AfD-polarised country, quoting her call for a 'reconciled society'
Sources: Bloomberg Business, Reuters, France 24