Merz picks Ilse Aigner to become Germany's first woman president

BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday he intended to appoint Bavarian politician Ilse Aigner as the country's next president, in 2027, making her the first woman in the post.

He made his announcement at a dinner for leaders of his centre-right CDU party, confirming information leaked last week by party sources.

Aigner, 61, belongs to the CSU, the Bavarian sister party of the CDU.

Aigner's nomination by Merz virtually guarantees her election on Jan 30, as those voting are almost all drawn from Germany's two parliamentary chambers.

Currently speaker of the southern state's regional assembly, she would replace outgoing President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a Social Democrat, in the largely ceremonial post.

Steinmeier, who took office in 2017, will reach the limit of two five-year terms in March 2027.

German political practice is that coalition parties agree on a common candidate for the job. The president is meant to be above party politics, representing the moral conscience of the country.

The current ruling coalition is made up of the CDU, the CSU and the Social Democrats of the SPD.

- 'PERFECT CANDIDATE' -

The SPD has frequently voiced its support for Aigner as president.

During the chancellorship of Angela Merkel, she served as agriculture minister, winning the respect of politicians outside her own party.

Dietmar Woidke, one regional SPD leader, told the news website Politico that she would be the "perfect candidate" for the job.

"She knows German politics like the back of her hand," he said. "She's accessible. She likes people, knows how to listen and people listen to her," he added.

Her appearances in traditional dress at Germany's beer festivals have also helped raise her profile in Bavaria.

And her way of dealing with the far-right AfD party in the Bavarian regional parliament is admired for being both firm and courteous.

At a time of increased political polarisation, and as the anti-migrant, pro-Russian AfD is registering a record 28 per cent in opinion polls, her admirers see her as a potential calming influence.

Aigner was born in Bavaria to parents who ran an electricity company. She survived a brush with cancer in her youth, when a tumour had to be removed from her back.

After technical studies, she worked as an electronics technician with a helicopter builder before moving into local and then federal politics.--AFP