Germany

The so-called "mask affair" that broke out in early March and implicated two CDU/CSU MPs on corruption charges resulted in a loss of voter confidence in the majority party in the federal state. As a result, the CDU/CSU has delayed the announcement of its candidate to become the next chancellor.

The CDU's losses in the recent state elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as its poor scores in public opinion polls, showed that the Union had to fight for first place in the political competition between the parties. "Until recently, that was beyond my imagination," Interior minister Seehofer said.

Hennig Otte, the CDU membership representative, demanded that the question of the chancellor candidate be decided in agreement with the chairpersons of the CDU and CSU and also with the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag. He told the news agency dpa: "After all, it is the members of the Bundestag who elect the Chancellor. "Otte appealed for a decision to be made soon. He added: "The Union's chancellor candidate question must be decided in such a way that there is an appetite for the future in Germany." To this end, "a team must be presented in which the heads and contents are authentic".