Information meeting at noon, 17 September: Merz becomes the Union’s candidate for chancellor

CDU leader Friedrich Merz will run for chancellor in the 2025 federal election for the Union. He and CSU leader Markus Söder confirmed this at a joint press conference. This and other topics of the lunch with Florian Zelt.

Yesterday, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst announced that he would not be running for chancellor himself. His regional association is supporting Merz instead.

Politicians from the CDU and SPD have already reacted to the announcement of CDU leader Merz as the Union’s candidate for chancellor. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said he was happy for Merz to run. He said this some time ago. Schleswig-Holstein Prime Minister Daniel Günther of the CDU said he wanted to support Merz with all his might. The most important thing is that the Union stands united behind Merz. Rhineland-Palatinate CDU leader Florian Baldauf has praised Merz’s work as party leader: Baldauf told the German press agency that Merz had managed to establish the Christian Democrats as a serious, strong and audible opposition party.

The Federal Congress on National Urban Development Policy begins in Heidelberg

From today, experts in Heidelberg will be discussing how cities can develop in the future and what politicians need to do to achieve this. Construction Minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) and Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) are also expected to attend the conference. Specifically, the focus will be on what political course needs to be set so that cities become climate-neutral – but also how the coexistence of cities can be made fair and inclusive in the future.