Bavaria’s state premier, Markus Söder, told conservative MPs on Sunday that he is open to running for chancellor as the candidate for the conservative CDU / CSU union.

Söder ready to take on chancellor role

Markus Söder announced that he would be ready to stand for chancellor in a crunch meeting with conservative MPs on Sunday. “If the CDU were willing to support me, I would be ready,” he said in the meeting. Ending months of speculation as to whether he would be interested in the Chancellorship, the Bavarian premier is now up against Armin Laschet, the head of the CDU party and the first-choice candidate for the conservative union.

Söder is the undeniably more popular candidate amongst the German people, with a recent poll showing that 54 percent of Germans thought the leader of Bavaria would be a good candidate, compared to just 19 percent for Laschet.

Laschet has called on his party to make a quick decision regarding the candidate for chancellor. “Unity is very important. It would do the CDU and CSU a lot of good to make the decision together. And very promptly,” he said. The successful candidate will most likely be chosen privately and Laschet has since told reporters that the chosen candidate will be the one “best suited for our election programme.” Conversely, Söder has gone on record to say that the chosen candidate must be “accepted by the whole population, not just the party.”

The race for candidacy

The CDU / CSU has come under heavy criticism in recent months for their handling of the coronavirus, the struggling vaccination programme, and a corruption scandal regarding the procurement of face masks. The union is seriously suffering in the polls, with record lows of under 30 percent and some have called for Laschet to step aside and allow the more charismatic Söder to take his place.

Laschet still remains more likely to win over the more senior members of the party. However, Söder has already garnered support from several CDU lawmakers, as the union continues to face embarrassment in the polls. With the Green Party just a few points behind the CDU / CSU, there is a real chance that the conservative union could lose their hold on the chancellorship for the first time since 2005.